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UNIVERSITY  OF  IOWA  MONOGRAPHS 


STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL 
SCIENCES 

F.  E.  Haynes,  Ph.  D.,  Editor 


VOLUME  V  NUMBER  3 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  FOR  THE  COMBINATION 
OF  PUBLIC  AND  PRIVATE  RELIEF 


BY 


Bessie  A.  McClenahan,  M.  A. 


Published  by  the  University,  Iowa  City 


CONTENTS 


/^v 

M3 


Editor  ^s  Introduction      ....         .       .  5 

I    Introduction 7 

II    Provisions  of  the  Law  Governing  Public  Reljef  9 

1.  Outdoor  Relief 9 

2.  Indoor  Relief 13 

III  Administration  in  Polk  County        .        ...  15 

1.  Outdoor  Relief 16 

2.  Indoor  Relief 27 

IV  Cost  of  Poor  Relief  in  Iowa 29 

V    Variations  of  Administration 31 

VI    Difficulties  of  Administration       ....  34 

VII    "The  Iowa  Plan" 38 

1.  Grinnell 38 

2.  Oskaloosa 44 

3.  Waterloo 44 

4.  Ottumwa 47 

5.  Burlington 53 

6.  Fort  Dodge 54 

7.  Cedar  Rapids 54 

8.  The  Significance  of  the  Plan       ...  55 

VIII    A  State  Program 58 

1.  Dangers  of  the  Combination  Plan       .        .  58 

2.  Advantages  of  th^  Combination  Plan     .       .  59 

3.  Methods  of  Securing  Voluntary  Combination 

Plan 61 

4.  County  Welfare  Boards 62 

5.  Recommendations  for  Improving  Present 

System 67 

Notes  and  References 69 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 


The  Iowa  plan  for  the  combination  of  public  and  private  re- 
lief has  grown  out  of  the  conditions  and  needs  of  the  state. 
The  fact  that  the  situation  in  Iowa  is  typical  of  that  of  all  the 
states  of  the  middle  west  makes  its  experience  of  especial  inter- 
est throughout  that  entire  section. 

Furthermore,  the  constant  extension  of  the  activity  of  gov- 
ernment along  social  lines  makes  it  evident  that  more  and  more 
dependence  will  be  placed  upon  public  authorities  in  dealing 
with  social  problems.  Such  a  development  means  a  fuller  recog- 
nition of  the  responsibility  of  government  for  social  welfare. 
'Private  charity  can  never  meet  the  need  completely  and  satis- 
factorily. There  must  be  a  combination  of  public  and  private 
activities  to  accomplish  the  best  results. 

The  Iowa  plan  is  not  entirely  original  with  that  state,  but  has 
appeared  occasionally  in  other  places,  although  it  has  usually 
been  temporary  in  character  and  dependent  upon  some  com- 
bination of  circumstances  and  of  persons.  In  Iowa  it  has  now 
been  tested  long  enough  to  justify  the  belief  that  it  is  something 
more  than  an  interesting  experiment,  and  that  it  may  be  re- 
garded as  offering  a  plan  which  will  meet  the  growing  social 
needs  in  American  states,  especially  so  far  as  they  are  con- 
cerned with  the  constructive  social  work.  The  plan  provides  a 
central  organization  around  which  may  group  themselves  the  so- 
cial activities  of  very  different  communities.  It  makes  possible 
the  trained  worker  in  the  small  town,  while  it  may  readily  be 
adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  large  city. 

Miss  McClenahan,  the  author  of  the  monograph,  has  been 
the  leader  in  the  state  in  the  wider  use  of  the  Iowa  plan.      In 


6  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

the  larger  number  of  instances  where  it  has  been  adopted,  she 
has  made  the  preliminary  survey  in  connection  with  her  work 
for  the  Extension  Division  of  the  State  University  of  Iowa. 

F.  E.  Haynes 

State  University  of  Iowa, 
Iowa  City,  Iowa. 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  FOR  THE 

COMBINATION  OF  PUBLIC 

AND  PRIVATE  RELIEF 


I 

INTRODUCTION 

When  considering  social  problems,  the  custom  has  prevailed 
to  connect  them  especially  with  the  large  eastern  cities.  Con- 
sequently few  people  yet  realize  that  the  middle  west,  especially 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  has  its  own  problems,  peculiar  to  the 
region  and  different  from  those  of  the  great  city,  but  equally 
important  to  the  state,  and  vital  to  the  individual.  Since  the 
Men  and  Religion  Forward  Movement,  there  has  been  great 
interest  awakened  in  Iowa  for  social  service.  People  are  anx- 
ious to  do  something  that  will  result  in  definite  benefit  to  their 
neighbors  or  their  towns.  They  have  not  always  been  clear  as 
to  what  they  wanted  to  do,  or  what  they  could  do,  and  the  re- 
sult has  been  considerable  confusion  of  thought,  plan,  and 
action,  largely  because  there  is  a  lack  of  acquaintance  with 
the  legal  provisions  which  Iowa  has  made  to  care  for  its  poor 
and  dependent  people. 

Conditions  in  this  state  are  different  from  the  more  populous 
east,  since  Iowa  is  primarily  an  agricultural  state,  and  ranks 
high  in  wealth  as  a  farming  center.  The  census  for  1915  shows 
the  total  population  to  be  2,358,066.'  Almost  eighty-eight  per 
cent,  or  approximately  nine-tenths,  are  native  born;  2,093,897 
being  native  born  and  only  264,169  being  foreign  born.^  Only 
seven  of  the  ninety-nine  counties  have  a  population  of  over 
50,000.  These  are  Polk,  129,121;  Woodbury,  82,315;  Linn, 
70,153;  Scott,  65,645;  Dubuque,  60,975;  Pottawatomie,  56,896; 
and  Black  Hawk,  53,469.''     In  1915,  more  than  fifty-four  per 

(7) 


8  STUDIES  TN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

cent  of  tho  entire  population  of  the  state  resided  in  893  incor- 
porated cities  and  towns.  Or  to  express  it  conversely,  about 
forty-six  per  cent  of  the  population  may  be  considered  rural.* 
Only  fifteen  cities  have  a  population  of  more  than  15,000. 
There  are  ninety  communities  of  from  2,000  to  15,000  popula- 
tion and  788  of  fewer  than  2,000  persons,'  Statistics  for  1915 
show  two  cities  of  more  than  50,000 — Des  Moines  with  105,652 
and  Sioux  City  with  61,774.« 

Since  in  Iowa  there  are  few  congested  quarters,  education  is 
easy  to  obtain,  and  throughout  the  state  a  spirit  of  neighbor- 
liness  is  manifested,  the  chief  problem  may  be  described  as  that 
of  the  social  adjustment  of  the  community.  By  this  is  meant 
the  securing  of  a  harmonious  working  relationship  of  all  social 
agencies  and  organized  groups,  including  public  officials, 
churches,  schools,  clubs,  lodges,  benevolent  associations  and  busi- 
ness men's  organizations.  For  example,  in  one  Iowa  town  of 
5,000  population  were  discovered  no  fewer  than  189  voluntary 
groups,  including  churclies,  organized  Sunday  schools,  and  Sun- 
day school  classes  organized  on  a  club  basis,  fraternal  organiza- 
tions, such  as  lodges,  and  clubs  for  social,  religious,  and  study 
purposes.  To  secure  the  social  adjustment  of  the  community  is' 
not  a  simple  task  since  the  problem  has  arisen,  not  so  much  on 
account  of  bad  local  conditions  as  because  of  duplication  of 
social  effort,  of  ignorance  of  local  social  resources,  and  of  pos- 
sible social  programs.  The  problem  is  thus  one  of  organization 
and  administration  rather  than  of  the  creation  of  new  social 
machinery.  To  solve  it,  the  local  situation  must  be  studied  sys- 
tematically and  scientifically,  a  definite  social  program  for  the 
community  worked  out,  and  an  efficient  administration  provided. 


II 

PROVISIONS  OF  THE  LAW  GOVERNING 
PUBLIC  RELIEF 


OUTDOOR  RELIEF 

In  the  laws  of  the  state  the  provisions  concerning  the  support 
of  the  poor  are  given  in  the  code  under  ' '  Title  XII, ' '  which  deals 
with  "The  Police  of  the  State. "^  The  "poor"  and  "poor 
person"  are  defined  as  those  "who  have  no  property,  exempt 
or  otherwise,  and  are  unable  on  account  of  mental  or  physical 
disabilities  to  earn  a  living  by  labor."  However,  it  is  also 
stated  that  aid  is  not  forbidden  for  needy  persons  having  some 
means  v.hen  the  board  of  supervisors  decides  that  such  relief  is 
necessary  for  their  welfare  and  the  best  interests  of  the  public.^ 

Effort  is  made  to  safeguard  the  funds  for  caring  for  the  poor, 
and  the  law  explicitly  states  that  the  father,  mother,  and  chil- 
dren of  any  poor  person  shall  be  responsible  for  his  or  her  main- 
tenance f  that  in  the  absence  or  inability  of  nearer  relatives  the 
liability  shall  extend  to  grandparents,  if  they  have  means  other 
than  those  secured  by  personal  labor,  and  to  male  grandchildren 
by  personal  labor  or  otherwise.^"  If  the  relatives  specified  fail 
to  provide  maintenance,  resort  may  be  had  to  the  district  court 
for  an  order  to  compel  such  maintenance." 

Eligibility  for  receiving  relief  is  closely  connected  with  the 
poor  person's  place  of  residence.'^  The  provisions  for  acquir- 
ing residence  are  as  follows : 

1.  A  person  who  has  attained  majority  and  residing  in  the  state  one 
year  without  being  warned  to  leave  the  county  obtains  residence  in  the 
county  where  he  lives." 

2.  A  married  woman  has  the  residence  of  her  husband  if  he  has  one 
within  the  state.  If  she  had  a  residence  at  the  time  of  her  marriage,  she 
does  not  lose  it  because  of  her  marriage." 

3.  A  married  women  abandoned  by  her  husband  may  acquire  residence 
as  if  she  were  unmarried." 

4.  Children  have  the  residence  of  their  father,  if  he  has  one,  and,  if  he 
has  none,  that  of  the  mother." 

(») 


10  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

5.  Illegitimate  children  have  the  residence  of  their  mother.  If  she  h&l 
none,  that  of  their  putative  father." 

6.  A  minor  whose  parent  has  no  residence  in  the  state  and  a  married 
woman  who  lives  apart  from  her  husband  and  has  no  residence  and  whose 
husband  has  no  residence,  obtains  a  residence  by  living  one  year  in  a 
county." 

7.  A  minor  apprentice,  immediately  upon  being  bound,  has  the  resi- 
dence of  his  master." 

The  inference  is  that  legal  residence  is  dependent  upon  a 
year's  continuous  living  in  a  county.  If  a  person  coming  from 
another  state  applies  for  relief  and  does  not  have  a  residence  in 
Iowa,  he  may  be  sent  to  the  state  from  which  he  came,  at  the 
expense  of  the  comity  under  an  order  of  the  district  court  or 
judge;  but  he  may  be  temporarily  relieved  in  the  county  where 
he  applies.^^  Persons  who  come  from  another  state  or  another 
county  of  Iowa  and  who  are  believed  likely  to  become  county 
charges,  may  be  prevented  from  acquiring  residence  by  being 
served  with  a  notice  to  depart  from  the  county.  After  such  a 
warning  has  been  given,  residence  cannot  be  acquired  except  by 
living  in  the  county  for  a  period  of  one  year  from  the  date  of 
service.  The  person  may  be  prevented  from  acquiring  residence 
by  having  a  notice  served  each  year.^^  The  warning  is  served 
on  order  of  the  township  trustees  or  of  the  board  of  super- 
visors.^* 

The  matter  of  residence  has  often  been  a  source  of  contention. 
When  relief  is  granted  by  the  county  to  a  poor  person  having 
residence  in  another  county,  the  auditor  of  the  first  county  is 
expected  to  notify  by  mail  immediately  the  auditor  of  the  county 
in  which  the  individual  has  residence.  Within  fifteen  days  after 
receiving  notice,  this  auditor  must  inform  the  auditor  of  the 
county  which  granted  the  relief  whether  or  not  residence  is 
disputed.  If  it  is  not,  the  poor  person,  if  able,  may  be  removed 
to  the  county  of  his  residence,  or,  upon  request  of  the  auditor 
or  board  of  supervisors  of  that  county,  he  may  be  maintained 
where  he  is  at  the  expense  of  the  county  of  residence  without 
affecting  his  local  residence.*^  If  the  residence  is  disputed,  the 
matter  is  referred  to  the  district  court  for  settlement.  The 
county  in  which  residence  has  been  established  is  liable  to  the 
county  giving  the  relief  for  all  expenses  incurred  in  the  relief 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  11 

and  care  of  a  poor  person,  and  for  charges  of  removal  and 
expense  of  support  incurred  after  notice  is  given.^* 

County  boards  of  supervisors  are  charged  with  providing 
funds  for  the  care  of  the  poor.^'  The  expense  of  supporting 
the  poor  is  paid  out  of  the  county  treasury,  and  in  case  the 
ordinary  revenue  of  the  county  does  not  provide  sufficient  funds 
for  the  support  of  the  poor,  the  board  may  levy  a  poor  tax  not 
exceeding  two  mills  on  the  dollar.** 

Township  tiiistees  act  as  overseers  of  the  poor  for  their  re- 
spective townships.  The  poor  must  make  application  for  relief 
to  them,  and  they  may  afford  relief  at  public  expense  subject  to 
the  approval  of  the  board  of  supervisors.  The  trustees  must 
report  to  the  board  of  supervisors,  who  may  continue  or  deny 
relief.  All  bills  incurred  by  the  township  trustees  for  the 
support  of  the  poor  are  examined  by  the  board  of  supervisors, 
and,  if  the  amounts  seem  unreasonable  or  exorbitant  for  goods 
or  services,  the  supervisors  may  reject  or  diminish  the  claim."' 
If  any  poor  person  is  refused  the  relief  asked  for  by  the  trustees, 
he  may  apply  to  the  board  of  supervisors.  If  the  board  is 
satisfied  that  the  poor  person  should  have  relief,  the  board  may 
direct  the  trustees  to  give  it.*^ 

When  a  city  is  embraced  in  whole  or  in  part  within  the  limits 
of  a  township,  the  board  of  supervisors  may  appoint  an  overseer 
of  the  poor,  who  shall  have  within  the  city  or  part  thereof,  all 
the  powers  and  duties  given  to  township  trustees.  Relief  may 
consist  of  food,  rent  or  clothing,  fuel  and  lights,  medical  at- 
tendance or  money,  and  shall  not  exceed  two  dollars  a  week  for 
each  person,  exclusive  of  medical  attendance. 

Any  able-bodied  person  may  be  required  to  work  on  the  street 
or  highways  at  the  prevailing  local  rate^^  in  payment  for  and  as 
a  condition  of  receiving  relief.^"  Permission  is  given  by  law  to 
the  board  to  pay  an  annual  allowance  to  a  poor  person  of  ma- 
ture years  and  sound  mind  who  is  likely  to  become  a  county 
charge.  This  allowance,  however,  must  not  exceed  the  cost  of 
maintenance  in  the  ordinary  way.^^ 

The  General  Assembly  of  1913  passed  a  law  which  is  com- 
monly referred  to  as  the  ''widows'  pension  law."  It  provided 
financial  aid  for  widowed  mothers.     The  section  dealing  with 


12  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

this  provision  for  relief  is  a  part  of  the  juvenile  court  statutes.*' 
If  the  juvenile  court  finds  that  any  child  is  dependent  or 
neglected,^^  and,  that  the  mother  and  widow  is  poor  and  un- 
able to  care  for  the  child,  but  is  otherwise  a  proper  guardian, 
and  that  the  child's  welfare  is  best  promoted  by  remaining  at 
home,  the  court  may  grant  for  the  care  of  each  child  under  six- 
teen a  sura  not  to  exceed  two  dollars  a  week.  The  allowance 
granted  shall  cease  upon  the  child's  attaining  the  age  of  six- 
teen. After  the  allowance  has  been  granted  by  the  court,  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  county  board  of  supervisors  through  the  over- 
seer of  the  poor  or  otherwise  to  pay  the  amount  specified.  Any 
mother  whose  husband  is  an  inmate  of  an  institution  under  the 
state  board  of  control  shall,  for  the  purpose  of  the  law,  be  con- 
sidered a  widow,  but  only  while  her  husband  is  so  confined.** 

There  is  another  form  of  county  relief  which  is  not  popularly 
so  considered  and  with  which  a  great  many  citizens  are  not  ac- 
quainted. This  is  soldiers'  relief.  A  tax  of  one  mill  on  the 
dollar  or  less,  as  needed,  may  be  levied  by  the  board  of  super- 
visors to  create  a  fund  for  the  relief,  and  to  pay  the  funeral  ex- 
pense of  honorably  discharged  indigent  United  States  soldiers, 
sailors,  and  marines,  and  their  indigent  w^ves,  widows,  and 
minor  children  not  over  fourteen,  if  boys,  nor  over  sixteen,  if 
girls,  who  have  a  legal  residence  in  the  county.^^  Markers  for 
the  graves  of  the  soldiers  may  also  be  provided.*^  This  fund 
is  dispensed  by  the  soldiers'  relief  commission  which  consists 
of  three  persons,  two  of  whom  must  be  honorably  discharged 
Union  soldiers,  sailors,  or  marines.  These  commissioners  are 
appointed  by  the  board  of  supervisors  and  hold  office  for  three 
years."" 

In  1915,  the  legislature  passed  a  law  providing  for  county 
aid  for  the  blind,  popularly  called  "blind  pensions."  All  men 
over  twenty-one,  and  all  women  over  eighteen  who  are  found  to 
be  blind  by  the  examiner  of  the  blind  (a  regular  practicing 
physician  appointed  by  the  board  of  supei'visors)  may,  at  the 
discretion  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  receive  one  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  per  year,  paid  quarterly.  The  applicant  must 
go  before  the  county  clerk,  and  make  affidavit  that  he  or  she  is 
eligible  for  aid  to  the  blind.  This  must  be  accompanied  by  affi- 
davits of  two  citizens  stating  that  they  have  known  the  appli- 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  13 

cant  to  be  a  resident  of  the  state  for  five  years,  and  of  the 
county  for  one  year  preceding  application.^^ 

The  same  year  the  legislature  passed  what  is  known  as  the 
"Perkins  law"  which  provides  for  medical  and  surgical  treat- 
ment for  indigent  children  at  the  hospital  of  the  State  Univer- 
sity at  Iowa  City,  the  expense  for  such  care  being  paid  by  the 
state.  However,  the  cost  for  an  attendant  to  take  the  child  to 
or  from  the  hospital,  or  for  a  person  to  investigate  the  complaint 
(when  the  person  is  other  than  parent,  relative,  or  officer  re- 
ceiving a  fixed  salary),  is  paid  by  the  board  of  supervisors  out 
of  county  funds  collected  for  the  relief  of  the  poor.** 


INDOOR  RELIEF 

Indoor  relief  is  care  provided  in  institutions.  The  board  of 
supervisors  of  each  county  is  authorized  to  establish  a  county 
home  whenever  it  is  deemed  advisable,  and  to  purchase  land 
necessary  for  its  use.'*''  The  count}^  home  is  administered  by  a 
steward  appointed  by  the  board  of  supervisors.*^  Any  person 
may  be  received  who  has  a  written  order  from  a  township  trus- 
tee or  a  member  of  the  board  of  supeiwisors.^-  When  inmates 
of  the  county  home  become  able  to  support  themselves,  the  board 
of  supervisors  must  order  their  discharge.^^  Persons  admitted 
to  the  county  home  .may  be  required  to  perform  such  reasonable 
labor  as  their  age  and  bodily  strength  permit.^*  Poor  children 
when  cared  for  at  the  county  home  shall  attend  the  district 
school,  and  the  county  shall  pay  the  school  district  for  the  chil- 
dren in  attendance.'*^ 

The  law  provides  that  a  city  of  the  first  class^^  and  a  special 
charter  city^''  may  establish  an  infirmary  for  the  dependent  poor 
and  may  raise  funds  for  the  distribution  of  outdoor  relief.  So 
far  as  is  known,  this  law  has  not  been  taken  advantage  of  in 
Iowa. 

County  wards  are  cared  for  in  the  different  state  institutions, 
each  county  paying  a  per  capita  monthly  charge  for  its  resi- 
dents.^^ Inmates  of  these  institutions  who  do  not  have  any 
county  residence  are  considered  "state  charges,''  and  their  per 
capita  cost  is  paid  by  the  state.*® 


14  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

The  per  capita  cost  is  as  follows : 

Cherokee    State    Hospital    $17.00  a  month 

Clarinda    State    Hospital     16.00 

Soldiers '   Orphans '   Home,   Davenport, 

for    indigent    children     7.50 

for  soldiers'  children,  entire  cost  is  borne  by  the  state.  .  .  .  15.00 

Independence   State   Hospital    17.00 

State  Hospital  for  Inebriates,   Knoxville   15.00 

Mt.  Pleasant  State  Hospital  16.00 

State    Sanitorium,    Oakdale    45.00 

State  Hospital  and  Colony  for  Epileptics,  Woodward 15.00 

In  addition  to  these  costs,  the  counties  are  obliged  to  pay  for 
the  clothing  and  transportation  for  students  of  the  School  for 
the  Deaf*  at  Council  Bluffs,  and  for  the  inmates  of  the  Institu- 
tion for  Feeble-minded  Children  at  Glenwood.^'*  The  state  pro- 
vides all  the  expenses  of  students  at  the  College  for  the  Blind,* 
located  at  Vinton,  except  clothing  which  may  be  charged  to  the 
county  of  residence.*^  All  blind  persons  residents  of  the  state 
of  suitable  age  and  capacity  are  entitled  to  an  education  at  this 
institution  at  the  expense  of  the  state.  Non-residents,  if  they 
can  be  accommodated,  may  attend  upon  payment  of  sixty-six 
dollars  quarterly  in  advance.** 


*The  School  for  Deaf  and  the  College  for  the  Blind  have  both  been  trans- 
ferred from  the  State  Board  of  Control  to  the  State  Board  of  Education. 


Ill 

ADMINISTRATION  IN  POLK  COUNTY 


As  an  indication  of  the  situation  in  other  counties,  though  it 
must  be  kept  in  mind  that  they  are  not  duplicates  of  Polk 
County,  the  poor  law  will  be  outlined  as  administered  in  this 
county.  Polk  County  is  chosen  because  it  is  the  largest  in 
population ;  has  developed  all  the  provisions  of  the  law ;  has 
clung  to  the  literal  interpretation  of  the  law;  and  so  presents 
the  most  complete  operation  of  the  poor  law.  In  addition,  the 
writer  is  especially  familiar  with  Polk  County  because  of  having 
worked  in  cooperation  with  the  county  authorities  for  four 
years.  The  facts  are  given  frankly,  in  order  to  make  clear  the 
different  factors  which  have  determined  the  character  of  the 
relief  administration.  It  should  also  be  stated  that  the  criticism 
is  directed  at  the  machinery  and  not  at  the  agents  of  the  law. 
The  latter  are  many  times  handicapped  by  conditions  over 
which  they  have  no  control,  and  which  they  would  improve  were 
it  in  their  power. 

Polk  County  contains  Des  Moines,  the  largest  city  in  the  state. 
Des  Moines  is  not  distinctively  a  manufacturing  city,  though  it 
has  numerous  factories.  The  population  of  the  county  is  129,121 
and  of  Des  Moines,  105,652. ■'•*  Outside  of  Des  Moines,  farming 
interests  dominate.  In  Des  Moines  are  many  professional  peo- 
ple, attorneys,  physicians,  business  men  and  teachers.  Trade 
unions  are  well  developed,  but  there  are  also  many  common  or 
unskilled  laborers,  and  near  the  city  are  numerous  coal-mining 
camps.  Wages  for  skilled  labor  are  good,  salaries  are  compara- 
tively high,  and  the  county  exhibits  a  considerable  degree  of 
prosperity. 

In  outlining  the  situation  in  Polk  County  the  discussion  will 
be  largely  confined  to  county  relief  as  administered  in  the  county 
seat,  Des  Moines.  The  necessity  for  relief  exists  principally 
among  the  less  efficient  and  unskilled  laborers.  Their  wages 
are  low,  averaging  about  twelve  dollars  a  week,  and  their  house 

(16) 


16  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

rent  averages  about  ten  dollars  a  month/*  They  are  dependent 
for  their  employment  largely  upon  the  building  trades,  and 
thus  are  the  first  to  be  discharged  in  the  fall  and  the  last  to  be 
employed  in  the  spring.  They  are  the  marginal  men  econom- 
ically, and  sickness,  misfortune,  or  unemployment  soon  forces 
them  across  the  poverty  line  from  independence  to  dependence. 
In  addition  to  the  resident  families  who  apply  for  relief  are  the 
transients  or  "floaters"  from  all  parts  of  the  state  or  from 
neighboring  states,  who  are  attracted  to  Des  Moines  not  only 
because  it  is  a  large  city,  easy  of  access  by  railroad,  but  because 
it  is  a  convenient  stopping-off  place  between  Omaha  and  Chi- 
cago. This  element  is  difficult  to  deal  with  and  complicates  the 
problem  of  efficient  relief  administration. 

In  considering  county  relief  as  provided  through  taxation, 
one  of  the  first  things  to  be  noted  is  that  the  county  poor  relief 
is  called  the  ' '  pauper  fund, '  '^^  and  that  every  recipient  of  coun- 
ty aid  is  thereby  branded  a  "pauper."^*  This  fact  has  some- 
times even  been  naively  explained  to  the  applicant.  The  term 
is  a  relic  from  earlier  days,  and  one  that  ought  long  since  to 
have  been  discarded,  because  of  the  social  stigma  it  is  apt  to 
place  upon  the  self-respecting  poor  man  forced  to  apply  for 
assistance. 

OUTDOOR  RELIEF 

Outdoor  relief  is  that  given  in  the  homes  of  the  poor  of  the 
county.  The  provision  for  outdoor  relief  as  already  stated,  is 
comprehensive.  The  county  board  of  supervisors  is  responsible 
for  the  tax  levy  and  all  expenditures,  and  appoints  for  Des 
Moines,  the  county  seat,  an  overseer  of  the  poor  who  deals  with 
those  applicants  who  live  within  the  city  limits.  The  overseer 
decides  what  is  to  be  done  for  these  people.  The  board  may 
overrule  him  but  practically  never  does.  The  board,  or  the 
chairman  of  the  pauper  committee,  which  is  a  committee  of 
three  supervisors  to  look  after  the  interests  of  paupers  and  in- 
sane, may  suggest  or  recommend  certain  action,  and  the  over- 
seer usually  does  as  is  suggested.  Commissary  supplies  of  good 
quality  which  are  purchased  wholesale,  are  kept  in  the  store 
room  at  the  court  house  and  dispensed  weekly  by  the  overseer. 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  17 

^ 

The  amount  has  usually  been  limited  to  two  dollars  a  week,  at 
wholesale  prices,  for  the  ordinary  sized  family.  In  eases  where 
necessary  the  county  pays  four  dollars  a  month  rent,  and  oc- 
casionally eight  or  ten  dollars  a  month.  One  ton  of  coal  a  month 
is  the  usual  allowance.  The  comity  also  provides  medical  aid 
in  the  homes. 

County  relief  is  limited  to  those  families  who  have  lived  at 
least  one  year  continuously  in  the  county,  preceding  their  appli- 
cation for  aid.  Transportation  is  granted  to  non-residents  to 
their  homes,  or  to  residents  in  case  they  can  show  they  have 
relatives  to  care  for  them  at  their  destination,  or  some  other 
prospect  of  caring  for  themselves,  and  also  when  it  is  evident 
that  the  local  county  will  be  relieved  of  a  dependent.  Clothing 
is  seldom  purchased  by  the  overseer  of  the  poor  because  there 
are  a  number  of  privately  supported  societies  which  supply  it. 
County  burial,  for  both  resident  and  non-resident  poor,  provides 
a  grave  in  the  single  range,  each  grave  numbered  and  the  burial 
recorded,  a  decent  casket,  sliroud,  and  ambulance  to  convey  the 
casket  to  the  cemetery. 

The  matter  of  residence  is  a  determining  factor  in  securing  re- 
lief. The  usual  practice  of  the  overseer  of  the  poor  for  Des  Moines 
is  not  to  relieve  non-residents  in  their  homes.  Occasionally  de- 
pendent non-residents  are  sent  to  the  county  home.  If  non- 
vpcirlpiits  are  committed  to  any  state  institution  from  Polk 
County,  three  methods  are  followed:  (a)  if  residence  cannot  be 
located,  the  patients  are  sent  as  state  charges  and  the  state  pays 
for  their  care.  This  method  is  limited  to  patients  sent  to  hos- 
pitals for  the  insane;  (b)  in  the  case  of  patients  sent  to  the 
hospital  for  inebriates,  the  county  from  which  they  are  sent 
pays  the  bill  whether  the  inebriates  are  residents  or  not;  (c) 
if  non-residents  are  adjudged  insane,  and  their  residence  can  be 
located  in  the  state,  the  patients  are  sent  as  patients  from  their 
county  of  residence,  if  residence  is  acknowledged;  or  they  may 
be  sent  to  the  county  seat  for  the  local  authorities  of  their  county 
of  residence  to  make  the  disposition. 

Polk  County  also  makes  an  effort  to  collect  from  the  different 
counties  money  that  has  been  spent  for  the  care  of  their  resi- 
dents.    Collection  of  these  sums  is  not  always  successful,  some- 


18  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

times  because  the  county  to  which  the  bill  is  sent  disclaims  the 
county's  liability  on  the  ground  that  the  individual  or  family 
does  not  have  residence  there,  or  because  notice  was  not  sent  to 
the  county  auditor,  and  so  liability  was  not  acknowledged  and 
the  expenditure  guaranteed. 

While  the  law  provides  that  notice  to  leave  the  county  may 
be  served  on  an  individual  or  family  likely  to  become  dependent, 
thus  preventing  the  acquiring  of  residence  within  a  year  after 
such  notice  is  served,  and  even  preventing  it  after  the  first  year 
by  serving  notice  each  year,  the  practice  in  Polk  County  is  to 
serve  only  the  first  notice.  However,  it  should  be  noted  that 
an  individual  or  a  family  cannot  be  forced  to  leave  the  county. 
Their  going  is  a  voluntary  matter;  if  they  decide  to  go,  the 
county  will  usually  pay  transportation,  but  if  they  stay,  the 
county  usually  refuses  county  aid,  at  least  until  after  the  first 
year  has  expired. 

An  interesting  example  of  the  attitude  of  the  county  in  the 
matter  of  residence  is  shown  in  the  following  history  :^'' 

In  October,  1912,  a  husband,  his  wife,  and  three  children 
moved  to  Des  Moines  from  Kansas  City,  coming  at  the  sug- 
gestion, of  the  man's  parents.  The  family  had  previously  lived 
in  Des  Moines,  but  had  been  away  about  five  years,  and  had 
consequently  lost  residence.  The  husband  had  paresis  and  was 
developing  insanity.  For  a  while  the  family  lived  with  the 
parents.  But  the  house  was  not  large  enough  for  two  families, 
and  a  month's  rent  was  paid  for  a  four  room  cottage,  and  the 
son's  family  moved.  Now  said  the  mother,  "Let  some  one  else 
take  care  of  my  son  and  his  family."  The  son's  wife  applied  for 
county  aid  and  was  refused.  The  mother,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  she  had  two  unmarried  sons  both  of  whom  were  working 
and  living  with  her,  refused  to  help  the  dependent  family.  As 
a  result  private  relief  societies  and  interesed  individuals  bore 
the  burden,.  A  notice  to  leave  the  county  was  served,  but  the 
wife  refused  to  consider  returning  to  Kansas  City.  The  husband 
became  worse  and  was  committed  to  one  of  the  state  hospitals 
as  a  state  charge.  The  wife  then  made  application  for  a  widow's 
pension,  but  was  refused  on  the  basis  of  non-residence.  At 
length  private  aid  was  discontinued,  but  the  offer  of  a  home  for 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  19 

the  children  in  an  orphanage  was  made.  Then  the  mother  who 
was  responsible  for  the  removal  to  Des  Moines,  and  who  had 
calmly  unloaded  the  burden  of  their  support  on  the  community, 
came  forward,  and  the  family  once  more  moved  into  her  home. 
In  May,  1914,  application  was  again  made  for  a  widow's  pension, 
and  the  judge  granted  twelve  dollars  a  month. ^^ 

The  law  provides  that  the  county  can  give  employment  to  the 
needy  poor,  but  this  has  never  been  made  effective  to  the  writer's 
knowledge.^^  The  lav/  states  than  any  able-bodied  person  may 
be  required  to  labor  faithfully  on  the  streets  or  highways  at  the 
prevailing  local  rate  in  payment  for  and  as  a  condition  of  grant- 
ing relief,  said  labor  to  be  under  the  direction  of  the  officers  hav- 
ing charge  of  working  the  streets  and  highways. ^'^  During  the 
winters  of  1912-1913  and  1913-1914,  many  families,  in  which 
there  were  able-bodied  men,  were  relieved  by  the  overseer  of 
the  poor  because  the  men  could  not  get  work.  The  weather  was 
severe,  and  the  county  was  forced  to  give  aid  to  prevent  suffer- 
ing. This  would  have  been  a  good  time  to  make  use  of  the  law, 
but  no  effort  was  made  to  do  so.  Here  is  an,  instance  of  waste 
due  to  failure  to  link  the  different  departments  of  county  work, 
and  so  make  the  whole  system  effective.''^  In  Des  Moines  the  city 
authorities  tried  to  relieve  unemployment  by  giving  a  limited 
number  of  hours  of  work  on  the  streets  to  many  men  instead  of 
regular  work  to  a  few,  but  the  plan  was  short-lived. 

In  deciding  what  should  be  done  for  a  family  the  primary 
consideration  of  the  county  authorities  often  is  not  what  is  best 
but  what  is  cheapest.  Is  it  cheaper  to  buy  transportation  and 
send  out  of  the  county  and  state  people  who  are  sick,  or 
provide  for  them  adequately  at  home?  Is  it  cheaper  to  break 
up  a  home  temporarily  by  sending  the  father  to  the  county  hos- 
pital, and  the  children  to  the  detention  home,  leaving  the  mother 
to  shift  for  herself,  or  give  a  small  amount  of  weekly  aid  to  keep 
the  home  together?  Is  it  cheaper  to  separate  an  old  couple  who 
have  lived  together  half  a  century,  and  send  them  to  the  county 
home,  or  provide  for  them  where  they  can  be  together? 

The  question  of  the  transportation  of  indigent  people  arises 
in  this  connection.  Formerly  it  was  quite  customary  in  almost 
all  parts  of  the  country  to  buy  railroad  tickets  and  to  send  de- 


20  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

pendents  from  one  county  seat  to  the  next.  It  seemed  the 
cheapest  way,  and  it  was  decidedly  the  easiest,  but  in  the  end  it 
proved  to  be  expensive.  It  developed  a  horde  of  wandering 
beggars,  who  were  quite  content  to  travel  at  the  expense  of  the 
different  counties.  Frequently  applicants  at  the  office  of  the 
Associated  Charities  in  Des  Moines  have  told  of  their  wide  trav- 
els, made  without  a  cent  of  expense  to  themselves.  Of  course  it 
is  not  fair  to  the  community,  to  the  tax-payer,  or  to  these  wan- 
derers themselves.  This  practice  of  "shipping  on"  is  still  fol- 
lowed in.  a  great  many  communities.  It  does  not  need  to  be  em- 
phasized that  it  is  a  wasteful  and  extravagant  method.  Many 
eomnninities,  through  their  officers,  have  become  signers  of  the 
transportation  code,  thereby  agreeing  that  they  will  not  provide 
transportation  for  anyone  until  they  have  communicated  with 
the  desired  destination,  and  have  learned  that  the  individual  or 
family  has  relatives  there,  or  will  be  cared  for.  While  not  a 
signer  of  the  transportation  code,  Polk  County  is  usually  care- 
ful in  issuing  transportation,  and  some  evidence  must  be  pro- 
duced giving  good  reasons  for  the  purchase  of  a  ticket  by  the 
county. 

In  a  study  made  by  the  Associated  Charities  of  Des  Moines,  it 
is  interesting  to  note  that  in  the  year  1912  about  one  sixth  of  the 
applicants  were  single  men  and  women,  who  were  for  the  most 
part  homeless  and  transient.^^  The  society  has  had  more  success 
in  dealing  with  single  women  than  with  single  men.  The  woman 
is  usually  not  quite  so  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  wandering,  and 
for  that  reason  is  more  amenable  to  some  plan  for  a  steady  fu- 
ture. Little  success  is  reported  with  the  transient  man.  Time, 
money,  and  effort  have  been  spent  on  some  who  promised  to  be- 
come desirable  citizens,  but  the  efforts  have  failed  usually  just 
when  the  men  were  in  a  position  to  become  independent. 

Investigations  of  the  needs  of  applicants  for  relief  are  not 
always  thorough  and  close  acquaintance  with  changing  condi- 
tions of  the  family  is  not  always  cultivated.  For  instance,  one 
family  had  been  receiving  aid  for  several  years  because  the 
father  was  thought  to  be  suffering  from  tuberculosis.  Quite  by 
accident,  it  was  discovered  that  both  husband  and  wife  were 
working,  and  earning  together  about  eighty  dollars  a  month. 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  21 

The  wife  explained  that  she  thought  the  county  supplies  were 
"just  so  much  to  the  good,"  and  that  it  had  enabled  them  to 
save  more.  If  this  man.  had  been  under  the  constant  oversight 
of  the  county  physician  and  the  visiting  nurse,  and  required  to 
report  regularl}^  for  examination,  the  overseer  would  have  been 
conversant  with  the  family's  ability  to  take  care  of  itself  without 
aid  from  the  county. 

For  some  time  investigations  of  applications  for  county  relief 
were  make  by  a  private  society,  The  Associated  Charities  of 
Des  IVIoines,  working  in  close  cooperation,  with  the  overseer  of 
the  poor.  The  following  statement  of  the  overseer  is  eloquent 
of  the  results  of  careful  work : 

Having  been  appointed  to  the  position  of  overseer  of  the  poor  of  Des 
Moines,  Polk  County,  Iowa.  August  1st,  1905,  I  conceived  the  idea  that 
careful  investigations  and  visiting  of  homes,  which  have  never  before  been 
practiced  in  this  city,  would  be  a  great  benefit  to  the  tax  payers.  I  have 
now  been  in  the  work  for  nearly  two  years,  and  am  convinced  that  the 
visiting  of  homes  has  partly  resulted  in  the  following  saving  for  the  tax 
payers  of  Polk  County,  Iowa: 
Number  of  families  who  received  aid  in  the  year  1905,  490 

With  expenditures  of    $11,887.91 

Number  of  families  who  received  aid  in  the  year  1906,  252 

With  expenditures   of    $  6,988.31 

a  saving  to  the  tax  payers  of  Polk  County  in  one  year  of  $4,899.60.  The 
increase  of  population  in  the  year  1906  was  about  ten  thousand. 

I  would  recommend  that  those  who  occupy  the  position  of  the  overseer 
of  the  poor,  and  who  are  working  in  the  interest  of  the  tax  payers  of  their 
counties,  work  in  harmony  with  the  Associated  Charities.  For,  as  overseer 
of  the  poor  of  the  metropolis  of  Iowa,  I  feel  convinced  that  they  have 
been  instrumental  in  causing  a  saving  of  many  dollars  to  the  tax  payers 
of  Polk  county.  Their  aim  is  to  teach  those  who  apply  for  county  aid  to 
be  independent  and  self-supporting,  getting  them  employment,  etc.  On 
several  occasions,  I  have  recommended  people  who  applied  for  county  aid, 
to  first  visit  the  Secretary  of  the  Associated  Charities,  who  kindly  gave 
some  of  them  emergent  aid  for  the  sake  of  preventing  them,  if  possible, 
from  becoming  county  charges,  and  strange  to  say,  some  of  them  have  re- 
turned to  my  office  to  thank  me  for  my  kindness  in  recommending  them 
to  the  Associated  Charities,  and  thus  saving  them  from  becoming  public 
charges." 

Under  this  plan  of  close  cooperation  there  was  a  general 
division  of  eases  between  the  overseer  of  the  poor  and  the 
Associated  Charities.     The  fonner  took  care  of  those  requiring 


22  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

continuous  aid  and  the  latter  of  the  emergency  and  temporary 
cases.  This  prevented  many  families  from  being  placed  on  the 
county  books.  Cooperation  between  the  county  and  the  Asso- 
ciated Charities  fluctuates  with  the  changes  in  the  office  of  the 
overseer  of  the  poor.  During  the  winter  of  1913-1914,  when  the 
cooperation  was  not  so  close,  it  sometimes  happened  that  families 
who  \\ere  being  aided  by  the  Associated  Charities  to  prevent 
their  becoming  county  charges,  were  also  receiving  county  aid. 
This  involved  waste  and  prevented  constructive  work,  i.  e. 
putting  of  families  in  a  position  to  care  for  themselves.  During 
the  winter  of  1915-1916,  a  working  agreement  existed  between 
the  Associated  Charities  and  the  overseer  of  the  poor.  The  appli- 
cants needing  temporary  assistance  were  provided  for  by  the 
Associated  Charities,  while  those  needing  help  for  a  considerable 
period  of  time,  were  aided  by  the  overseer  of  the  poor. 

Until  recently  the  county  records  of  poor  relief  were  inade- 
quate. They  consisted  of  stubs  of  order  books  and  the  ledgers 
in  which  they  had  been  posted.  The  names  of  the  families  who 
had  been  aided  "were  not  arranged  in  careful  alphabetical  order 
and  almost  no  family  data  were  given.  To  learn  the  amount  of 
aid  given  to  a  family  for  a  series  of  years,  it  was  necessary  to 
look  through  one  ledger  after  another.  However,  during  1915, 
a  family  record  system  was  installed. ^^ 

Outside  of  the  city  limits  of  Des  Moines  the  township  trustees 
act  as  overseers  of  the  poor  and  may  provide  whatever  is  needed 
for  the  poor  in  each  township.  The  bills  are  approved  by  them 
and  sent  to  the  board  of  supervisors  for  payment. 

Polk  County  presents  in  Valley  Junction  an  unusual  varia- 
tion of  administration.  Valley  Junction  is  a  town  of  3,000  peo- 
ple located  immediately  west  of  Des  Moines,  and  has  no 
township  trustees.  In  this  case  the  city  council  acts  in 
place  of  the  township  trustees  and  provides  for  the  needy 
poor.  The  bills  incurred  are  approved  and  sent  to  the  super- 
visors for  payment.  It  is  not  necessary,  however,  to  bring  cases 
before  the  city  council,  as  they  may  be  referred  directly  to  the 
county  board  of  supervisors.^^ 

While  widows'  pensions  are  granted  by  the  juvenile  court, 
the  county  board  of  supervisors  is  responsible  for  providing  the 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  23 

money  for  them.  In  Polk  County  investigations  of  applications 
for  widows'  pensions  are  made  by  the  three  juvenile  court  or 
probation  officers.  When  the  case  is  heard,  the  county  attorney 
questions  the  witnesses  in  open  court,  and  on  the  evidence  pro- 
duced the  judge  decides  the  amount  of  the  pension.  The  money 
for  ^^•idows'  pensions  is  paid  from  county  funds. '^''" 

Since  the  county  must  pay  a  certain  sum  for  the  care  of  chil- 
dren by  the  state,  advocates  of  the  Iowa  law  claimed  that  it 
would  save  the  counties  money  by  keeping  children  out  of  statue 
institutions.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  pensions  are  not  granted  as 
an  alternative  for  institutional  care,  nor  has  the  operation  of 
the  law  resulted  in  removing  children  from  institutions.  The 
coimty  was  already  caring  for  widows  through  the  existing 
systems  of  outdoor  relief,  and  the  new  method  of  widows'  pen- 
sions really  became  another  county  agency  for  outdoor  relief. 
The  practical  working  basis  in  Polk  County  is,  that  after  a  wid- 
ows' pension  is  granted,  all  aid  coming  through  the  overseer 
ceases.  If  the  court  withholds  a  pension  on  the  ground  that  evi- 
dence is  not  forthcoming  to  prove  the  need  for  it,  the  county 
refuses  relief  on  the  ground  that  it  has  been  proved  that  the 
widow  does  not  need  county  aid. 

Investigations  of  applications  for  widows'  pensions  are  some- 
times meagre.  In  one  case  a  pension  of  ten  dollars  a  month 
was  granted  after  the  widow  had  been  placed  in  the  witness 
chair  and  questioned  by  the  county  attorney.  There  was  no 
written  report  from  the  probation  officer,  though  the  officer  had 
given  a  brief  verbal  report  to  the  judge  before  the  case  was 
lieard.  The  questioning  of  the  widow  did  not  reveal  the  fact 
that  she  had  received  damages  from  a  railroad  company  be- 
cause of  the  death  of  her  husband,  that  a  part  of  this  money  had 
been  spent  for  a  home,  and  that  the  home  had  been  lost  because 
payments  could  not  be  made  on  account  of  failing  health ;  all 
evidence  vital  to  the  situation.  In  many  cases,  there  is  a  lack 
of  follow-up  work,  i.  e.  no  planning  of  budgets  and  expendi- 
tures, and  not  enough  checking  up  of  the  situation  to  learn  if 
the  pension,  as  granted,  should  be  increased,  lessened,  or  dis- 
continued. 


24  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

In  Polk  County,  the  soldiers'  relief  commission  whose  duty- 
is  the  relief  of  destitute  old  soldiers,  their  wives,  and  their  minor 
children,  is  constantly  handicapped  for  money.  The  commis- 
sioners complain  that  the  levy  is  too  small  to  meet  the  needs, 
and  that  they  are  even  forced  to  borrow  at  the  bank  to  meet  the 
demands.  The  commission  works  in  close  cooperation  with  the 
Women's  Relief  Corps  and  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  in. 
aiding  soldiers  and  their  families  in  their  own  homes,  and 
also  with  the  Soldiers'  Home  at  Marshalltown,  where  many  old 
soldiers  and  their  wives  are  sent.  Soldiers'  relief  is  usually 
dispensed  by  check  in  amounts  from  two  to  six  dollars  a  month, 
the  average  being  about  four  dollars;  burial  expense  to  the 
amount  of  fifty  dollars  may  be  alloAved,  and  a  grant  may  be 
made  of  transportation  of  indigent  soldiers  or  their  wives  to 
Marshalltown  (the  Soldiers'  Home),  or  to  a  desired  destination, 
place  of  residence,  or  place  where  relatives  will  provide  for 
them. 

The  Polk  County  board  of  supervisors  share  the  administra- 
tion of  relief  with  the  city  of  Des  Moines  in  the  following  way : 
quarantine  cases  which  must  be  relieved  are  taken  care  of  by 
the  city  health  officers,  orders  for  necessities  being  given  on  local 
grocery  stores  and  coal  offices.  These  bills,  after  being  approved, 
are  sent  to  the  board  of  supervisoi-s  for  payment.  This  is  the 
only  aid  dispensed  by  the  city  authorities  with  the  exception  of 
a  small  amount  allowed  from  city  funds,  and  used  by  the  city 
physician  for  transportation  of  non-resident  sick  to  their  homes. 
However,  tickets  may  be  purchased  only  to  the  border  of  the 
state,  and  if  the  patient  must  go  farther,  the  balance  of  the 
money  must  be  secured  otherwise,  or  the  patient  is  left  to  his 
own  devices  to  secure  a  ticket  to  his  destination  outside  the 
state.  To  illustrate,  a  foreigner,  a  Slavic  miner,  w^as  taken  sick. 
His  countrymen  cared  for  him  as  long  as  they  could  and  then 
appealed  for  assistance.  The  man  wanted  to  go  to  a  small  town 
not  far  from  Peoria,  Illinois.  A  telegram  to  the  mayor  of  the 
town  brought  back  the  reply :  ' '  Send  him  back ;  we  will  care  for 
him."  The  city  physician  bought  the  man's  ticket  to  Daven- 
port, and  the  Associated  Charities  provided  a  ticket  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  journey.'^ 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  25 

The  city  makes  no  provision  for  the  care  of  non-residents,  ex- 
cept for  medical  treatment,  and  the  non-resident  poor  must  be 
cared  for  by  the  private  relief  societies,  or  sent  to  their  places 
of  residence.  For  several  years,  during  the  winter  months,  the 
city  conducted  a  municipal  lodging  house  for  the  care  of  tran- 
sient men.  This  was  discontinued  as  a  city  institution,  and  at 
tlie  present  time  the  only  provision  for  transients  made  by  the 
city  is  to  give  them  lodging  and  breakfast  at  the  city  jail. 

Cases  of  accident,  acute  sickness  of  non-residents,  and  other 
emergent  medical  cases,  even  of  residents,  are  taken  care  of  by 
the  city,  and  hospital  care  for  these  patients  is  paid  for  by  the 
city,  if  such  care  is  required.  There  is  a  city  physician  as  well 
as  a  city  health  officer.  The  city  physician  answers  emergency 
calls  and  visits  the  non-resident  sick  in  their  homes.  There  is 
sometimes  considerable  quibbling  as  to  whether  the  city  or  the 
county  physician  should  answer  calls,  the  question  at  issue  being 
the  residence  of  the  patient. 

The  county's  sick,  i.  e.  the  resident  poor  who  are  sick,  are 
given  medical  attention  by  the  county  physician,  a  local  doctor 
employed  by  the  supervisors.  He  visits  the  sick  poor  in  their 
homes  upon  order  of  the  overseer  of  the  poor,  and  also  cares  for 
the  people  at  the  county  home,  and  visits  the  three  county  hos- 
pitals. Advanced  cases  of  tuberculosis  are  cared  for  at  the 
county  tuberculosis  hospital,  and  cases  of  chronic  diseases  at  the 
county  hospital.  In  acute  and  operative  cases  of  resident  poor, 
the  county  physician  may  place  the  sick  in  wards  at  the  Meth- 
odist, Mercy,  Des  Moines  General,  or  Lutheran  hospitals,  and 
the  county  pays  the  bills  when  approved  by  the  county  physi- 
cian or  the  overseer  of  the  poor.  In  some  instances  where  pri- 
vate physicians  are  caring  for  cases  as  charity  patients,  the  over- 
seer of  the  poor  or  the  county  physician  may  authorize  entrance 
to  one  of  the  hospitals  and  the  county  pays  the  hospital  bills. 

For  a  time  the  Polk  county  board  of  supervisors  appropriated 
seventy-five  dollars  a  month  to  the  Visiting  Nurses'  Association, 
and  the  nurse  was  then  subject  to  call  by  the  overseer  or  county 
physician.  In  the  fall  of  1913,  the  supervisors  decided  to  em- 
ploy a  nurse  of  their  own.  The  allowance  to  the  Visiting  Nurses' 
Association  was  discontinued  and  a  former  visiting  nurse  em- 


26  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

ployed.  She  did  much  of  the  interviewing  and  calling  on  behalf 
of  the  overseer  of  the  poor,  and  was  required  to  call  on  the 
county  sick  when  sent  by  the  county  physician.  During  1915 
this  trained  nurse  was  elected  overseer  of  the  poor,  and  the  su- 
pervisors again  in  1916  made  an  appropriation  to  the  Visiting 
Nurses'  Association  in  return  for  the  services  of  a  visiting 
nurse. 

In  evolving  a  plan  to  enable  the  family  to  help  itself,  the 
county  may  bring  to  its  support  some  good  laws  for  the  treat- 
ment of  certain  cases  of  family  dependence.  If  a  woman  ap- 
plies for  aid,  telling  of  a  deserting  or  non-supporting  husband, 
the  county  aids  only  on  condition  that  the  woman  will  appear 
before  the  grand  jury  and  will  give  testimony  against  her  hus- 
band in  accordance  with  the  desertion  law.^*  The  contributory 
dependency  law®^  provides  for  bringing  into  juvenile  court  a 
father  who  is  a  drunkard  or  a  non-supporter.  The  judge  may 
appoint  a  guardian,  who  has  the  authority  to  put  the  man  to 
work  and  draw  his  wages  for  the  benefit  of  the  family.  If  the 
man  refuses  to  cooperate  with  the  guardian  in  accordance  with 
the  court's  order,  he  is  subject  to  punishment  for  contempt  of 
court.  So  far  as  the  writer  knows  no  such  case  has  been  carried 
through  contempt  proceedings. 

While  a  remarkably  good  feeling  prevails  between  private  and 
public  agencies  in  Des  Moines,  no  definite  plan  of  coordination* 
has  resulted.  The  situation  is  complicated  by  a  large  number 
of  private  charitable  agencies.  Among  these  there  is  much  over- 
lapping of  fimction,  and  consequently  a  waste  of  time,  energy, 
and  money.  The  situation  in  regard  to  employment  is  a  good 
illustration  of  the  duplication  of  function.  In  1913,  there  w^ere 
eight  different  private  agencies  in  Des  Moines  trying  to  oper- 
ate in  this  field.  They  were  (1)  Associated  Charities,  (2) 
Young  "Women's  Christian  Association,  (3)  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  (4)  Salvation  Army,  (5)  Volunteers  of 
America,  (6)  Iowa  Public  Welfare  League,  (7)  Roadside  Set- 
tlement, (8)  Scott  Street  Day  Nursery.  All  of  these  agencies 
were  spending  a  certain  amount  of  time  in  the  effort  to  secure 


•In  December  1917,  a  Public  Welfare  Bureau  was  established  as  a  depart- 
ment of  the  Des  Moines  Chamber  of  Commerce.  This  Bureau  conducted  a 
financial  campaign  for  twenty-two  local  charities,  all  of  which  are  members 
of  tbe  Bureau. 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  27 

employment  for  applicants  when  their  forces  might  have  been 
combined  and  one  worker  employed  to  take  charge  of  a  central 
employment  office.  This  is  only  one  instance  of  duplication  of 
function  in  the  field  of  charitable  endeavor.  During  the  winter 
of  1914-1915  a  central  employment  office  was  established  at  the 
mimicipal  building,  but  it  was  operated  onlj^  for  a  few  months. 
The  Associated  Charities  actually  spent  about  five  hundred  dol- 
lars to  place  applicants  in  the  country  and  to  close  the  business 
of  the  central  bureau.''''' 

Duplication  of  work  by  the  agencies  in  Des  ^loines  has  been 
greatly  lessened  since  1915  by  the  establishment  of  a  confiden- 
tial exchange  called  the  Social  Service  Registration  Bureau. 
This  has  the  support  of  the  business  men,  and  each  charitable 
agency  is  required  to  register  with  the  Bureau  the  names  of 
all  its  beneficiaries,  and  to  subscribe  a  certain  amount  towards 
the  Bureau's  support  as  conditions  of  endorsement  by  the  Re- 
tail ^lerchants'  Bureau.^'  This  endorsement  is  a  prerequisite 
demanded  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  before  contributions 
may  be  solicited  from  its  members. 

INDOOR  RELIEF 

The  county  institution,  familiarly  known  as  the  "Poor  Farm" 
has  four  distinct  departments.  (1)  The  county  home  has  a  ward 
for  men,  and  in  a  separate  building,  a  ward  for  women.  When 
an  aged  couple  is  sent  to  the  ' '  Farm, ' '  they  are  separated.  The 
women 's  ward  is  on  the  lower  floor  of  the  central  brick  building, 
on  the  upper  floor  of  which  is  the  county  hospital.  The  county 
has  made  a  rule  not  to  give  outdoor  relief,  i.  e.  relief  in  the  home, 
to  families  in  which  are  no  minor  children  although,  of  course, 
no  one  can  be  compelled  to  go  to  the  home.  The  practice  of  re- 
fusing outdoor  relief  to  this  class  of  dependents  has  been  quite 
generally  followed,  though  there  have  been  exceptions.  In  1916 
the  county  home  was  reported  as  crowded  and  inadequate  for  all 
the  people  needing  its  care,  and,  to  meet  this  situation,  the 
county  provided  cash  relief  or  boarded  out  its  clients,  gi\'ing  or- 
ders for  their  care  and  keep,  which  averaged  about  twelve  dol- 
lars a  month.  About  one-third  of  the  families  receiving  out- 
door relief  in  1916,  were  childless  old  couples."     (2)  The  county 


28  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

hospital  cares  for  chronic  cases  of  disease  or  for  cases  which  are 
not  acute  enough  or  of  such  serious  character  as  to  require  to 
be  taken  to  one  of  the  city  hospitals.  Minor  operations  are  often 
performed.  (3)  A  hospital  for  the  treatment  of  advanced  cases 
of  tuberculosis,  the  capacity  of  which  is  ten  beds,  is  located  on 
the  grounds  of  the  county  farm.*  (4)  Located  near  the  tuber- 
culosis hospital  is  the  county  hospital  for  the  insane.  As  a  rule 
cases  considered  incurable  are  cared  for  in  the  county  hospital. 
In  accordance  with  the  law  patients  at  the  state  hospitals  who 
are  pronounced  incurable  may  under  certain  conditions  be  trans- 
ferred from  the  state  hospitals  to  the  county  hospital.'' 

Besides  the  indoor  relief  at  the  county  farm  the  county  pays 
a  stipulated  amount,  fixed  by  the  state  and  uniform  for  all  coun- 
ties, for  the  insane,  for  inebriates,  for  incipient  cases  of  tuber- 
culosis, and  for  other  county  charges  cared  for  at  state  insti- 
tutions. 


♦October  1.5,  1917,  Polk  County  voted  bonds  for  $100,000  for  a  site  and  build- 
ings for  a  Tuberculosis  Hospital  to  be  In  the  confines  of  Des  Moines.  Capacity 
will  be  fifty  beds. 


IV 
COST  OF  POOR  RELIEF  IN  IOWA 


Iowa  is  a  prosperous  rural  state  and  is  not  popularly  supposed 
to  have  serious  problems  of  poverty.  Financial  reports  prove 
that  the  reverse  is  true.  Of  the  ninety-nine  counties  only  two 
have  no  county  homes.  In  one  of  these  the  dependents  who 
would  ordinarily  be  sent  to  the  county  home  are  ' '  boarded  out ; ' ' 
in  the  other,  their  care  is  contracted  for.  Almost  20,000  acres 
are  included  in  county  farms  in  Iowa,  while  the  appraised  val- 
uation of  county  homes  and  county  farms  in  eighty-four  coun- 
ties was  given  as  $4,400,522  in  1915.  According  to  the  same  re- 
port 2,555  persons  were  cared  for  in  eighty-five  county  homes  in 
1915,''*  and  the  net  cost,  exclusive  of  investment,  of  eighty-two 
county  homes  was  $354,943.64  for  1915."  It  has  not  been  pos- 
sible to  secure  complete  reports  of  the  cost  for  all  of  the  ninety- 
nine  counties.  The  cost  of  county  hospitals  or  wards  in  the 
county  homes  for  care  of  the  insane  is  included  in  the  general 
cost  of  county  homes. 

The  amomit  expended  for  outdoor  relief  in  seventy-five  coun- 
ties totaled,  for  1915,  $638,949.17.76  The  Soldier's  Relief  Com- 
missions in  ninety-four  counties  expended  $177,472.28  in  1915," 
while  widows'  pensions  amounted  to  $153,810.49  for  the  same 
year.7«  For  1915,  therefore,  the  cost  of  the  county  homes, 
of  outdoor  poor  relief,  of  widows'  pensions,  and  of  soldiers'  re- 
lief in  loM'a  was  $1,325,176.20  and  this  sum  does  not  include  the 
large  amount  of  money  that  the  state  pays  for  the  care  of  coun- 
ty patients  at  the  different  state  institutions,  nor  does  it  include 
the  cost  of  caring  for  dependent,  defective,  or  delinquent  chil- 
dren. 

During  the  biennial  period,  1914  to  1916,  the  amounts  paid  by 
the  counties  for  the  support  of  county  patients  in  hospitals  for 
the  insane  was  $1,448,757.61 ;"  for  inebriates,  $56,355.41 ;«''  and 
in  the  Iowa  Soldiers'  Orphans'  Home,  $76,233.61.*^    The  balance 

(29) 


30  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

of  the  cost  of  these  institutions  is  paid  by  the  state.  Expendi- 
tures for  support  for  the  biennial  period,  1914  to  1916,  for  the 
Soldiers'  Home,  the  Soldiers'  Orphans'  Home,  the  School  foij 
the  Deaf,  the  School  for  the  Feeble-Minded,  the  State  Sanator- 
ium for  the  Treatment  of  Tuberculosis,  the  Industrial  Schools 
for  Boys  and  Girls,  the  State  Hospitals  for  the  Insane,  the  State 
Colony  for  Epileptics,  the  State  Hospital  for  Inebriates,  the 
State  Penitentiary,  and  the  State  Reformatory  totaled  $4,064,- 
789.94.  The  expenditures  from  special  funds  for  these  insti- 
tutions and  for  the  Women's  Reformatory  during  the  same 
period  was  $1,484,871.29.  The  twenty-seven  private  institutions 
for  friendless  children  report  total  disbursements  of  $397,212.51 
for  the  year  ending  December  31,  1915.** 


V 
VARIATIONS  OF  ADMINISTRATION 


By  means  of  a  questionnaire®^  effort  was  made  to  obtain  some 
idea  of  the  methods  of  administration  in  use  in  the  ninety-nine 
counties  in  Iowa.  The  replies  indicate  that  scientific  methods 
are  not  in  general  use. 

In  answer  to  the  question  of  time  of  residence  required  for 
eligibility  for  county  relief  the  replies  show  a  variation  of 
from  sixty  days  to  a  year.  Transients  are  treated  somewhat  uni- 
formly ;  temporary  aid,  notice  to  leave  the  county,  and  attempts 
to  collect  the  amount  of  aid  given  from  the  home  county,  consti- 
tute the  usual  program.  As  to  transportation,  the  unwise  prac- 
tice of  "shipping  on"  is  still  too  much  in  evidence.  The  fol- 
lowing replies  are  indicative :  ' '  Pass  along  to  the  next  county 
seat,  if  it  is  evident  that  it  is  cheapest;"  "Serve  notice;"  "Give 
transportation  if  it  will  rid  the  county  of  them ; "  "  Buy  ticket 
and  ship  them  towards  home;"  "Give  ticket  to  next  county 
seat  in  direction  they  want  to  go;"  "Transportation  is  a  saving 
in  many  cases."  Some  counties  limit  transportation  to  women, 
old  men,  the  sick,  and  cripples.  A  few  counties  refuse  transpor- 
tation until  adequate  investigation  can  be  made.  Their  method 
is  to  communicate  with  responsible  persons  at  the  desired  des- 
tination, and  to  purchase  transportation,  if  evidence  is  forth- 
coming that  the  applicant  has  residence  there  or  will  be  cared 
for.  Transportation,  when  granted,  should  be  given,  however, 
to  destination,  and  not  just  to  the  next  county  seat.  It  should 
be  given  able-bodied  applicants  only  imder  extraordinary  con- 
ditions.   Employment  should  be  offered  instead. 

The  majority  of  counties  keep  practically  no  family  data,  such 
as  names  of  members  of  the  family,  ages,  accurate  address,  rent 
paid,  occupation,  income,  and  resources.  Usually  the  name  of 
the  head  of  the  family  is  secured  and  occasionally  the  number  of 
children  and  the  income.     Ordinarily  the  address  is  noted  and 

(31) 


32  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

sometimes  the  amount  of  rent  paid.  A  new  overseer  has  very 
few  data  to  acquaint  him  with  the  families  who  have  had  county- 
aid,  and  a  change  in  regime  is  an  excuse  for  possible  applicants 
to  take  advantage  of  tlie  new  incumbent.  Nearly  all  of  the 
counties  keep  records  of  relief  by  means  of  stubs  of  order  blanks 
and  ledgers.  A  few  counties  have  a  good  card  system,  which 
can  usually  be  traced  to  the  immediate  influence  of  organized 
charity  methods.  The  printed  financial  reports  of  the  different 
counties  do  not  give  the  number  of  families  aided.  In  one  town 
the  overseer's  report  stated  that  the  total  number  of  applicants 
for  the  year  was  2,920,  but  the  overseer  had  simply  added  the 
number  of  applicants  for  each  month  regardless  of  the  fact 
that  some  of  them  were  continued  cases.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
somewhat  feM'cr  than  200  different  families  had  received  relief, 
excluding  the  transient  or  non-resident  cases.®*  A  few  counties 
still  publish  a  list  of  families  aided,*^  a  plan  which  is  most  humil- 
iating to  the  applicant. 

In  one  city  it  was  found  that  the  overseer  of  the  poor  had  no 
system  of  records  or  even  a  ledger  account  of  relief  disbursed. 
The  carbon  copies  of  orders  issued  were  the  only  records  kept 
by  him.  The  county  auditor,  of  course,  kept  the  bills  paid  by 
the  county  for  poor  relief.*^  Since  this  study  was  made,  the 
county  in  question  has  installed  a  system  of  individual  family 
records. 

Three  methods  of  purchasing  supplies  for  outdoor  relief  were 
found:  (1)  buying  at  wholesale  prices  and  conducting  a  store 
room  from  which  supplies  are  given  out  in  needed  quantities  by 
the  overseer;*''  (2)  contracting  with  a  retail  grocery,  which  has 
been  the  lowest  bidder,  to  furnish  staple  supplies  to  applicants 
on  order  from  the  overseer;*®  and  (3)  giving  orders  on  local  re- 
tail stores.®^  Under  the  last  plan  orders  may  be  specific  or  may 
be  "bulk  orders"  which  indicate  the  amount  of  merchandise 
but  not  the  kind  and  quantity. 

In  one  city  a  study  of  the  local  situation  showed  that  the  over- 
seer of  the  poor  had  but  little  authority  and  was  practically 
serving  as  a  clerk  to  distribute  relief  in  accordance  with  action 
taken  by  the  board  of  supervisors.""  The  general  investigations 
were  not  up  to  the  recognized  standard,  and  the  record  system 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  33 

was  found  inadequate.  Bulk  orders,  stating  that  a  certain  firm 
should  give  to  the  bearer  groceries  to  a  certain  amount,  were 
used  instead  of  definite  orders  based  upon  needs.  A  committee 
of  the  supervisors  heard  applications  for  relief  and  determined 
the  amount  to  be  given.  The  same  committee  seemed  to  assume 
the  granting  of  widows'  pensions. ^^ 

Three  methods  of  providing  medical  care  for  the  poor  in  their 
homes  were  found.  (1)  The  supervisors  appoint  a  local  physi- 
cian at  a  fixed  yearly  salary  to  answer  calls  to  the  homes  of 
needy  people  after  the  call  has  been  approved  by  the  overseer 
of  the  poor.  The  same  physician  may  also,  and  usually  does, 
care  for  the  patients  at  the  county  home  and  the  county  jail. 
(2)  The  supervisors  pay  local  physicians  for  calls  upon  the  sick 
upon  an  order  from  the  overseer  of  the  poor,  either  at  regular 
or  at  special  rates.  This  method  allows  the  poor  families  to  name 
the  physician  they  prefer  and  assures  the  physician  his  pay.  (3) 
The  supervisors  grant  a  sum  each  year  to  the  county  medical 
association  in  return  for  which  the  members  agree  to  answer  all 
calls  upon  order  from  the  overseer  of  the  poor.  This  process 
results  in  rotation  of  physicians,  different  physicians  serving 
in  turn  for  a  specified  time.  The  first  and  second  plans  are  in 
most  general  use;  the  third  is  in  operation  in  Waterloo. 


VI 
DIFFICULTIES  OF  ADMINISTRATION 


An  analysis  of  the  law,  of  its  detailed  administration  in  one 
county,  and  of  the  variations  in  its  administration  in  the  state 
make  clear  that  the  problem  of  administering  poor  relief  in 
Iowa  has  not  been  solved.  Certain  specific  difficulties  should  be 
mentioned. 

The  board  of  supervisors  is  an,  elective  body  dependent  upon 
local  political  influence.  Its  most  important  function  is  the 
making  of  the  county  levy  for  taxation  and  its  apportionment. 
The  supervisors  are  bound  to  consider  the  expense  of  every  de- 
partment; at  the  same  time  certain  expenditures  are  demanded 
by  their  political  obligations.  As  a  result  the  board  is  between 
two  fires — one  the  keeping  down  of  expenses;  the  other,  the 
spending  of  money  to  satisfy  their  constituents. 

The  overseer  of  the  poor  is  usually  a  political  appointee  and 
subject  to  some  political  pressure.  If  a  large  taxpayer  asks  aid 
for  a  certain  family,  it  is  difficult,  because  of  his  political  in- 
fluence, to  deny  the  request.  On  the  other  hand,  the  overseer 
must  be  economcal  so  as  to  make  a  showing  when  his  reports 
are  submitted  to  the  supervisors,  and  so  that  the  question  of 
saving  of  expense  or  the  weight  of  political  influence  may  over- 
balance his  decisions  relative  to  what  is  best  for  a  family. 

Relief  is  only  one  function  of  the  township  trustees  and  one 
that  has  probably  received  the  least  attention,  since  dependence 
in  the  purely  rural  districts  is  limited  in  amount.  Township 
trustees  are  more  or  less  dependent  politically  upon  the  board  of 
supervisors,  and  their  acts  are  shaped  largely  by  what  they 
think  will  meet  with  the  approval  of  the  board.  They  must  be 
economical  or  run  the  risk  of  having  their  bills  denied  payment. 
They  are  largely  unacquainted  with  modern  methods  of  dealing 
with  relief  and  are  apt  to  be  slow  and  cautious. 

(84) 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  35 

County  officials  in  charge  of  relief  are  seldom  trained  charity 
workers.  Changes  are  frequent  and  often  result  in  forcing  an 
official  out  of  office  just  as  he  is  becoming  efficient.  The  new 
man,  in  his  turn,  learns  his  lessons  from  day  to  day,  the  poor 
often  having  to  pay  for  his  experience  through  his  mistakes  in 
generosity  or  his  niggardliness.  The  administrator  of  relief 
funds  is  dealing  not  with  inanimate  objects  but  with  the  most 
delicate  thing  in  the  world,  personality. 

Wise  administration  takes  infinite  patience.  Always  the 
element  of  human  nature  enters  into  the  solving  of  every 
family  problem,  a  most  uncertain  element,  and  yet  the  one  that 
makes  the  work  so  important  and  so  difficult.  Too  much  cannot 
be  demanded  or  expected  of  an  official  receiving  many  times  only 
a  nominal  salary — salaries  of  overseers  range  from  ten  to  sixty 
dollars  a  month,  and  sometimes  less  than  one  hundred  dollars  a 
year  is  paid.  In  one  county  the  salary  is  $1200.00,''-  and  in 
another  $1500.00 ;  in  the  latter  case,  however,  part  of  the  salary 
is  paid  from  private  funds. 

Many  times  without  any  investigation  the  applicant's  story 
is  taken  at  its  face  value.  In  one  county  the  overseer  of  the  poor 
received  applications  by  telephone  or  letter,  and  forthwith  sent 
out  what  had  been  summarily  "ordered"  from  him.  One  over- 
seer, in  speaking  of  an  aged  couple  who  owned  a  comfortable 
home,  and  who  had  several  strong  and  prosperous  married  chil- 
dren, said  :  ' '  What  could  I  do  ?  The  old  couple  would  not  give 
me  a  lien  on  the  property,  because  they  wanted  it  for  their  chil- 
dren. The  children  refused  to  help  their  parents,  so  the  county 
had  to  do  something."  In  another  instance,  a  county  aided  the 
families  of  three  brothers,  two  of  whom  lived  in  the  same  house. 
The  three  men  were  able-bodied,  drank  heavily,  and  left  the 
support  of  their  families  to  their  wives  and  to  the  county.  Again 
the  county  continued  aid,  notwitlistanding  the  fact  that 
Iowa  has  a  hospital  for  inebriates  and  a  good  non-support  law. 
Practically  no  effort  is  made  to  secure  employment  for  those 
out  of  work  or  to  make  a  definite  plan  to  lielp  the  families  to 
support  themselves.  One  overseer  remarked  that  the  county 
could  not  discriminate  as  carefully  as  pi-ivate  societies,  because 
the  money  was  to  help  the  poor,  and  when  a  poor  man  applied 


36  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

to  him,  although  the  man  was  able  to  work,  there  was  nothing 
for  the  county  to  do  but  give  assistance. 

One  of  the  difficulties  resulting  from  the  present  system  of  re- 
lief is  a  duplication  of  function  and  of  machinery.  Especially 
is  this  true  of  the  widows'  pensions  and  the  poor  fund  proper, 
as  handled  by  the  overseers  of  the  poor  and  the  township  trus- 
tees. The  juvenile  court,  whose  primary  function  is  the  care 
of  children,  has  had  thrust  upon  it  the  administration  of  a 
form  of  relief,  widows'  pensions.  The  overseer  of  the  poor  and 
the  township  trustees  were  already  caring  for  widows  in  need. 
The  law  providing  for  widows'  pensions  has  entailed  a  confus- 
ion as  to  fields  of  labor,  an  overlapping  of  function  with  a  result- 
ing duplication  and  waste  in  repeated  investigations  and  in  the 
time  of  officials. 

The  law  does  not  provide  adequately  in  widows'  pension 
cases  for  the  investigation  which  is  necessary  to  protect  the 
county  from  wasteful  expenditure  and  to  protect  the  widow 
and  her  family  from  the  disastrous  results  of  relief  given  with- 
out the  requirement  that  the  family  should  do  all  in  its  power 
to  become  self-supporting.  Illustrative  of  the  need  for  investi- 
gation is  the  story  of  a  widow  who  used  the  pension  money 
not  for  her  family  but  to  pay  for  her  husband's  tombstone. 
One  judge  told  of  the  case  of  a  woman  that  had  been  heard  in  his 
court.  As  he  was  on  the  point  of  granting  a  pension,  he  decided 
that  the  woman  looked  unusually  well-dressed  and  he  could  not 
understand  why  she  was  in  such  need.  He  called  her  back  to 
the  stand,  put  her  through  a  severe  grilling,  and  as  a  result 
learned  that  she  owned  a  farm,  hogs,  cattle,  horses,  and  chick- 
ens.   Of  course  the  pension  was  not  granted. 

The  law  makes  no  provision  for  some  one  to  visit  in  the  homes 
after  the  pension  is  granted,  to  help  plan  the  family  budget;  to 
advise  the  mother  relative  to  the  purchasing  of  family  supplies, 
to  see  that  the  children  are  kept  in  school  and  in  good  physical 
condition  or  directed  into  employment  with  a  future;  and  keep 
the  court  informed  of  the  family  needs  and  resources  so  that  if 
advisable  the  pension  may  be  increased  or  discontinued.  As  now 
administered  the  pension  automatically  ceases  for  each  child  as 
the  child  reaches  the  age  of  sixteen. 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  37 

In  the  case  of  widows'  pensions  the  law  gives  the  court  the 
right  to  grant  the  pension  and  specifies  that  the  board  of  super- 
visors must  pay  it.  One  county  refused  to  pay  the  pensions 
granted  by  the  court  and  questioned  the  constitutionality  of  the 
law,  but  finally  it  was  forced  by  local  public  opinion  to  pay  the 
pensions  granted. 

To  sum  up  the  situation,  the  administration  of  relief  is  charac- 
terized frequently  by  a  lack  of  complete  records,  of  trained 
officials,  of  thorough  investigation,  and  of  follow-up  work.  The 
results  in  the  waste  of  public  money,  in.  the  pauperization  of 
families,  and  the  lack  of  constructive  work  to  rehabilitate  fam- 
ilies now  dependent,  constitute  a  serious  problem.  The  same 
careful  business  methods  of  accounting,  bookkeeping,  and  ad- 
ministration should  be  exercised  in  giving  relief  or  aid  to  the 
needy  poor  as  in  the  conduct  of  any  business.  It  is  all  the  more 
important  since  the  giving  of  relief  so  vitally  affects  the  lives  of 
people. 

In  the  last  few  years  some  of  the  citizens,  especially  business 
men,  have  become  aware  of  the  inefficiency  of  much  of  the  relief 
work,  but  when  a  change  of  method  is  suggested,  a  serious  and 
practical  difficult.v  presents  itself :  the  smaller  communities  can- 
not pay  double  for  relief.  In  other  words,  they  cannot  pay  taxes 
levied  by  the  county  board  of  supervisors  for  public  relief  funds 
and  the  salary  of  a  public  official,  and  at  the  same  time  pay,  by 
means  of  personal  contributions,  for  a  private  relief  fund  and  a 
trained  charity  worker.  The  problem  is  being  solved  by  a  com- 
bination of  public  and  private  agencies.  This  method  is  com- 
monly referred  to  by  Iowa  social  workers  as  "the  Iowa  Plan." 


VII 
THE  IOWA  PLAN. 


GRINNELL 

111  the  spring  of  1912,  citizens  of  Grinnell  were  much  con- 
cerned to  find  that  the  town  was  expending  for  poor  relief  what 
seemed  to  be  an  amount  out  of  proportion  to  the  needs.  Grinnell 
is  a  college  town  of  about  5000  population,  not  a  town  of  for- 
eigners, of  factory  people,  or  of  apparent  poverty.  These  citi- 
zens discussed  the  situation  with  the  county  board  of  supervisors 
with  tlie  result  that  the  supervisors  decided  to  employ  a  trained 
social  worker  to  make  a  local  investigation.  The  writer,  at  that 
time  assistant  secretary  of  the  Des  Moines  Associated  Charities, 
was  employed. 

The  spirit  of  the  town  was  a  desire  to  be  of  service,  and  every 
aid  was  given  to  make  the  survey  successful.  There  were,  how- 
ever, no  records  of  the  families  which  had  been  receiving  aid.  A 
list  of  those  receiving  aid  had  been  published  in  the  newspapers 
after  the  January  meeting  of  the  board  of  supervisors  and  again 
after  the  April  meeting.  This  was  not  a  list  of  families,  with 
amount  of  aid  given,  but  was  a  quota  of  bills  allowed,  each  firm 
in  presenting  its  bill  having  itemized  it  in  this  fashion :  ' '  Gro- 
ceries for  Jones  family,  $12.40."  The  items  from  the  two 
printed  lists  for  the  different  families  were  pasted  on  cards  of 
uniform  size.  This  card  catalogue  gave  the  names  of  families 
and  the  amount  of  relief  each  family  had  received  in  a  period  of 
about  six  months.  The  card  file  was  then  taken  to  the  overseer 
of  the  poor,  who  gave  information  as  to  where  the  family  lived 
and  whether  it  was  then  receiving  aid.  In.  only  a  few  instances 
was  the  number  of  the  house  given.  This  omission  caused  the 
loss  of  considerable  time  in  locating  the  homes.  The  first  plan 
of  the  investigator  was  to  have  office  hours  for  about  two  hours 
a  day,  so  that  all  families  applying  for  aid  might  be  referred  to 

(88) 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  39 

her  by  the  overseer.  This  method  would  have  given  opportu- 
nity to  secure  family  data  and  to  get  in  touch  with  the  family 
in  an  unobtrusive  way.  As  the  overseer  was  not  in  favor  of  the 
plan,  visiting  in  the  homes  was  begun  at  once.  The  investiga- 
tor's coming  had  been  heralded  in  the  newspapers,  everyone 
knew  the  purpose  of  the  investigation,  and  it  was  currently 
predicted  that  the  families  would  refuse  to  give  information. 
This  proved  to  be  a  false  prophecy.  The  families  received  the 
investigator  in  good  spirit,  and  only  in  a  few  places  was  there 
any  hesitancy  in  giving  the  data  asked. 

Seventy-two  cases  were  listed.  One  of  these  had  received  tlie 
amount  credited  to  her,  a  dollar  and  a  half,  not  as  aid  for  her- 
self, but  in  payment  for  work  done  for  others.  One  case,  not 
included  in  the  seventy-two  was  that  of  an  old  lady  who  had 
given  her  home  to  the  county  in  return  for  care  during  her  life- 
time. Ten  of  the  cases  w^ere  no  longer  living  in  Grinnell.  Sixty- 
one  families,  which  had  been  recipients  of  county  aid,  were  vis- 
ited as  was  also  the  annuity  case.  In  addition,  employers,  mer- 
chants, physicians,  relatives,  and  teachers  wei'e  interviewed.  Not 
only  was  a  separate  report  of  each  family's  condition  given  to 
the  supervisors,  but  a  graphic  chart  showing  conditions  was  also 
prepared. 

Specific  recommendations  were  also  made  in  writing.  The 
following  extracts  from  the  report  will  be  of  interest : 

1.  The  need  for  thorough  investigation   is  imperative. 

2.  The  necessity  is  clear  of  watching  the  situation,  in  order  to  throw 
the  family  on  its  own  responsibiliy  as  soon  as  possible,  and  also  in  order 
to  be  sure  that  the  family  is  utilizing  all  aid  given  and  all  its  own  resources. 

3.  The  need  for  cooperation  with  physicians,  schools,  health  oflficer,  and 
relatives  is  apparent. 

4.  Cooperation  on  the  part  of  the  family  in  the  plan  made  for  its 
welfare  is  requisite. 

5.  There  is  imperative  need  for  an  employment  exchange,  so  that  when 
a  man  or  woman  applies  saying  he  or  she  cannot  get  work,  the  overseer 
can  say  in  return,  "Here  is  work  for  you  to  do,  if  you  want  it." 

6.  A  permanent  worker  is  needed  to  give  his  or  her  entire  time  to  the 
work.  This  need  is  the  greatest,  and  in  reality  it  combines  the  other  five. 

On  first  thought  this  plan  would  seem  impracticable  in  a  town  the  size  of 
Grinnell,  but  I  am  convinced  that  it  will  more  than  prove  its  desirability. 
Summing  up  the  amounts  voted  at  the  January  and  April  meetings  of  the 


40  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

supervisors,  we  find  that  the  amount  for  Grinnell  was  about  $4000.  For 
the  rest  of  the  county  it  was  less  than  $1100.  Poweshiek  County  has  a 
population  of  about  19,000,  Grinnell  has  a  little  over  one-fourth  of  this 
number,  yet  the  relief  in  Grinnell  was  almost  four  times  that  for  the 
rest  of  the  county. 

Relief  ought  to  be  given  when  and  where  it  is  needed  and  in  sufl&cient 
amount,  but  nothing  is  more  disastrous  than  relief  where  it  is  not  needed. 
When  people  get  to  depending  on  others,  and  from  a  state  of  being  willing 
to  let  others  care  for  them  become  unwilling  to  exert  themselves,  ami  then 
demand  relief  as  their  right  because  they  are  poor  and  citizens,  some 
radical  measure  must  be  taken.  I  wish  you  could  have  gone  with  me  into 
some  of  the  homes  and  heard  some  of  the  expressions.  I  want  to  quote 
a  few  of  them. 

One  woman  said  she  sent  all  her  orders  to  the  overseer  by  mail.  One 
day  when  I  was  calling  in  a  home  the  mother  said  to  me ;  "I  sent  an  order 
for  some  coal  the  other  day,  but  it  hasn  't  come. ' '  I  asked  her  where  she 
ordered  it,  and  she  said  from  the  overseer,  and  then  she  added  she  guessed 
she  would  have  to  buy  some  herself  tomorrow.  One  family  said  the  county 
did  well  by  them.  One  man,  as  he  sat  in  the  doorway  of  his  home,  said 
that  he  didn  't  think  it  was  much  harm  to  get  help  if  a  man  couldn  't  get 
work.  He  did  not  look  very  enthusiastic  over  the  prospect  of  hunting  for 
work.  One  woman  remarked  naively  that  Grinnell  was  a  good  place  to 
live,  people  were  so  good  to  the  poor.  I  was  somewhat  surprised  when  one 
woman  remarked  she  had  not  applied  for  the  aid,  and  she  declared  she 
did  not  know  who  had  applied  for  her.  She  was  rather  a  haughty  young 
woman  and  said  she  didn  't  see  why  I  asked  her  any  questions.  I  asked  her 
if  she  didn 't  get  more  than  one  ton  of  coal  and  she  said,  yes.  I  then  asked 
her  if  she  had  not  said  something  about  it  and  she  said,  no.  She  finally 
declared,  however,  that  the  coal  saved  her  quite  a  little.  She  also  said  she 
would  not  apply  again  as  she  could  pay  for  her  own  coal,  and  she  would 
not  have  gotten  it  if  she  had  known  her  name  would  be  published.  Another 
woman  told  me  it  had  been  suggested  to  her  that  she  should  have  her  doc- 
tor bill  paid  by  the  county,  but  she  said  she  wouldn  't  after  the  names 
appeared  in  the  paper  and  she  is  now  paying  it  herself.  Repeatedly  I  have 
heard :  "So  and  So  got  aid,  and  ought  not  to  have  it, "  or  "So  and  So 
got  aid  and  didn 't  need  it  half  as  much  as  we  did, "  or  "  Mrs.  Brown  got 
such  a  lot  of  help  and  I  could  hardly  get  any." 

Relief  is  the  hardest  thing  in  the  world  to  give  wisely.  Material  relief, 
coal,  groceries,  clothing,  is  not  the  only  kind  needed.  Sometimes  friendly 
advice  or  just  a  kind  thought,  a  little  encouragement  or  the  helping  to 
get  employment  really  helps  more  than  relief  orders. 

For  all  these  reasons  it  would  seem  advisable  to  have  one  worker  giving 
entire  time  to  the  work.  To  make  it  practical,  this  combination  has  been 
suggested.  Let  the  individual  who  is  appointed  overseer  of  the  poor  also 
act  as  agent  of  the  Grinnell  Charity  Organization  Society.  He  or  she  could 
also  act  as  humane  officer  and  as  truant  officer.     The  expense  of  such  an 


THE  IOA¥A  PLAN  41 

officer  could  be  shared,  and  it  would  then  be  a  burden  to  no  one,  and  would 
repay  a  hundredfold  in  the  kind  of  work  done. 

What  would  it  mean  if  this  were  done? 

1.  Thorough   investigation  and   accurate   records   of   poor   relief. 

2.  An  actual  saving  in  the  amount   of   poor  relief. 

3.  An   employment   exchange. 

4.  A  central  agency  where  tramps  and  beggars  could  be  referred  for 
work  and  their  stories  might  be  investigated. 

5.  It  would  save  administration  expenses. 

6.  It  would  save  repeated  investigations  by  agents  of  different  or- 
ganizations. 

7.  It  would  mean  the  concentration  of  work  so  that  if  court  action  were 
needed,  it  could  be  taken. 

8.  It  would  make  possible  a  trained  social  worker,  cognizant  of  all  the 
phases  of  the  situation  who  could  deal  with  any  emergency;  who  could 
work  with  schools,  churches,  and  the  health  officer  and  who  could  advise 
with  individuals  who  wished  to  help  families  with  private  funds  and  keep 
them  from  the  county  books. 

9.  It  would  help  to  save  the  respect  and  preserve  the  independence  of 
the  families  needing  assistance. 

I  have  outlined  a  number  of  practical  and  somewhat  technical  suggestions. 

1.  All  orders  should  be  given  on  regular  blanks  and  signed  by  the 
overseer. 

2.  Each  bill  presented  should  be  itemized  and  should  have  clipped  or 
pinned  to  it,  the  separate  orders  given  by  the  overseer  of  the  poor. 

3.  No  stores  should  honor  any  orders  except  those  on  the  regular  blanks. 

4.  The  overseer  of  the  poor  should  keep  a  record  of  each  order  given. 
This  may  be  done  by  means  of  carbon  copies. 

5.  Each  case  applying  for  aid  should  be  thoroughly  investigated  and 
recommendation  made  according  to  conditions. 

6.  The  overseer  should  keep  a  complete  record  of  each  family  and  send 
changes  of  condition  to  the  auditor  of  the  county  with  whom  a  duplicate 
record  should  be  kept. 

7.  The  overseer  should  report  monthly  to  the  board  of  supervisors. 

8.  Emergency  orders  should  be  given  by  the  overseer,  and  should  be 
approved  by  the  supervisors  at  the  monthly  meeting,  at  which  time  they 
should  pass  upon  the  continuing  of  relief. 

9.  Physicians  should  have  an  order  from  the  overseer  to  attend  a  pa- 
tient or  the  bills  should  not  be  approved  by  the  supervisors. 

10.  Orders  of  milk  and  eggs  should  be  given  only  on  a  physician's 
recommendation,  and  when  the  family  can  not  provide  them  for  itself. 

11.  All  orders  given  by  the  overseer  should  be  itemized  with  definite 
amount  for  each  article. 

12.  When  bills  are  audited,  the  originals  and  carbons  should  correspond. 


42  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

13.  Notice  should  be  promptly  served  on  non-residents  likely  to  become 
coiinty  charges. 

14.  Names  of  families  receiving  county  aid  should  not  be  published 
again.     The  purpose  for  which  they  were  published  has  been  served. 

15.  Some  kind  of  work-test  is  imperative. 

16.  Groceries  should  be  given  only  once  a  week. 

There  are  some  other  suggestions  in  connection  with  the  work  with  the 
families:  in  case  of  desertion  or  continued  non-support,  court  action  should 
be  taken ;  relatives  visiting  or  staying  in  the  home  should  pay  for  their 
own  care  and  should  not  expect  the  county  to  provide  for  them  (this  re- 
fers to  relatives  other  than  the  immediate  family).  If  a  desertion  case  has 
been  tried,  and  the  man  ordered  to  pay  a  definite  sum  towards  the  fam- 
ily's support,  the  worker  should  see  that  this  amount  is  paid.  Children 
should  not  be  allowed  to  come  to  the  overseer's  office. 

I  can  only  add  that,  in  order  to  put  the  relief  work  on  a  good  business 
basis,  business  methods  should  be  used  and  some  one  should  be  secured  who 
would  know  how  to  conduct  the  work  in  a  business-like  way,  and  some  one 
who  could  devote  the  entire  time  to  it.  This  means  a  salary  for  full  time 
and  a  decided  increase  over  the  present  allowance  for  the  work.  An  over- 
seer devoting  his  or  her  entire  time  is  the  most  imperative  need  and  in 
order  to  carry  out  the  suggestions  made,  a  competent,  energetic,  capable 
person,  sympathetic  and  kind,  able  to  win  the  confidence  of  the  poor  and 
well-to-do  alike,  would  help  to  solve  the  problem.®^ 

After  the  report  had  been  given  at  Montezuma,  the  county 
seat  and  had  been  accepted,  the  board  of  supervisors  united  with 
the  Charity  Organization  Society  of  Grinnell  in  the  employment 
of  a  trained  worker  for  the  next  year,  each  body  appropriating 
$500.00  for  such  a  worker,  who  should  act  as  secretary  of  the 
Charity  Organization  Society  and  overseer,  and  who  should  give 
attention  also  to  the  county,  although  outside  of  Grinnell  recom- 
mendations only  M^ould  be  made  to  the  township  trustees  and 
supervisors.  The  Charity  Organization  Society  was  later  reorga- 
nized under  the  name  of  the  Social  Service  League,  the  board 
of  which  was  composed  of  nine  members  elected  from  contribu- 
tors ,two  elected  by  the  Woman's  Civic  Union  and  the  Ministe- 
ial  Union,  and  three  members  ex-officiis,  the  mayor,  the  super- 
intendent of  schools,  and  the  resident  supervisor. 

The  results  of  the  first  year's  work  were  remarkable.  During 
1912,  the  county  had  expended  in  Grinnell  approximately 
$8,000.00.  During  1913  this  amount  was  cut  down  to  about 
$4,200.00.     From  the  private  funds  there  was  spent  an  addi- 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  43 

tional  $600.00.     In  other  words,  a  total  of  $4,800.00  was  ex- 
pended in  1913.  a  saving  of  about  40  per  cent.^^ 

The  Social  Service  League  styles  itself  a  "Bureau  for  Com- 
munity Sei*vice. ' '   Funds  are  used  as  follows : 

County  Funds  provide  for  all  general  expenses  of  relief 
and  administration.  There  are  Special  Needs  which  cannot 
be  met  by  county  money.  These  are  provided  for  through 
private  funds  voluntarily  contributed.  These  Special  Needs 
include : 

1.  Medical  care  for  school  children  whose  parents  can- 
not provide  it : 

2.  Special  hospital  care  for  members  of  self-supporting 
families  where  the  income  does  not  pemiit  of  extra  ex- 
pense for  such  attention : 

3.  Temporarj^  loans  to  persons  who  need  just  a  little 
lift  over  a  hard  place. 

The  overseer  of  the  poor  is  also  truant  officer  and  investigator 
of  all  widows'  pension  cases.  Clean-up  day,  play  ground,  Boy 
Scouts,  Camp  Fire  Girls,  health  work,  home  gardens,  protection 
and  care  of  dependent,  neglected  and  delinquent  children,  coop- 
eration of  all  charitable  agencies  during  the  year,  and  a  plan 
for  Christmas  giving  have  been  pi'omoted.'"' 

At  the  end  of  the  first  year  under  the  combination  plan,  the 
supervisors  were  so  well  pleased  with  the  results  that  they  vol- 
untarily assumed  the  entire  expense  of  salary  and  adminis- 
tration of  the  office.^' 

The  year  1914  saw  the  Social  Service  League  occupying  a  yet 
larger  place  as  the  center  of  social  activity,  and  still  further 
reduction  was  made  in  expenditures:  $3,902.09  from  county, 
$263.82  from  private  funds,  a  total  of  $4,165.97.^«  Mr.  I.  H. 
Saunders,  chairman  of  the  board  of  supervisors  of  Poweshiek 
County  made  the  following  statement : 

"Our  worker  has  been  able  to  render  a  large  amount  of  assist- 
ance to  township  trustees  in  outlying  townships.  We  are  very 
much  pleased  with  continued  results  and  would  not  think  of 
going  back  to  the  old  system  of  caring  for  our  unfortunates, '  ''^ 


44  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

OSKALOOSA 

Oskaloosa  adopted  the  same  plan  that  Grinnell  has  instituted, 
organizing  a  Social  Service  League,  and  employing  a  trained 
worker  as  overseer  and  secretary,  who  began  work  March  5, 
1914.""'  The  salary  is  paid  jointly  by  the  county  and  the 
league.  The  secretary  and  overseer  also  serves  as  police  matron, 
truant  officer  charged  with  enforcement  of  the  child  labor  law, 
probation  officer  appointed  by  the  court,  investigator  of  all 
widows'  pension  cases,  and  manager  of  the  "Goodfellow"  work 
at  Christmas  time.  An  employment  office  is  conducted  by  the 
League  and  a  plan  making  possible  a  visiting  nurse  has  been 
devised.^"^ 

WATERLOO 

Since  1905  public  relief  and  private  charity  funds  have  passed 
through  the  hands  of  the  Waterloo  Association  of  Charities  and 
Correction,*  with  the  overseer  of  the  poor  acting  as  superintend- 
ent. A  statement  of  expenditures  by  the  county  for  the  years 
1906  to  1914  inclusive  shows  that  althougli  the  city  had  much 
more  than  doubled  its  population  during  this  period,  the  expense 
to  the  coiuity  for  these  items  had  scarcely  increased. ^"^  On 
January  25,  1915,  the  staff  of  field  workers  consisted  of  the 
overseer,  at  a  monthly  salary  of  eighty-five  dollars  and  three 
nurses  at  seventy-five  dollars  a  month.  Of  these  salaries  the 
county  paid  at  that  time  sixty-five  dollars  a  month  for  the  over- 
seer, and  seventy-five  dollars  for  one  nurse  and  the  school  board 
paid  forty  dollars  towards  the  salary  of  a  nurse  for  work  done 
in  the  schools.  There  M^ere  no  overhead  charges  as  the  city  gave 
an  office  in  the  city  hall.f*. 

The  following  analysis  of  the  work  is  given  by  Dr.  G.  Hardy 
Clark,  formerly  of  Waterloo,  who  was  a  very  active  member  of 
the  board  of  directors. 

The  outline  of  our  work  given  below  will  show  the  intimate 
interweaving  of  the  city,  school,  private  and  county  interests  in 
the  unsanitary  and  destructive  social  condition  that  make  up  our 


•Now  the  Social  Service  League  of  Waterloo 
tOfflce  now  in  tbe  county  court-house 


THE  IOWA  PLAN 


45 


city  pathology,  and  will  illustrate  our  conception  of  the  necessity 
of  dealing  with  them  all  by  a  strong  central  agency. 

The  association  operating  as  a  Public  Service  Board  investi- 
gates and  acts  for  the 


CITY 


SCHOOLS 


{Sanitary  environments 
Overcrowded  and  insanitary  homes 
Neglected  contagious  diseases 
Evidence  to  present  to  our  morals  commission 

Inspection  of  schools 

Inspection  and  management  of  school  children  in  homes 
■  Truancy  (as  yet  we  do  but  part  of  this  work) 
Defectives 
Adenoid  and  other  operations 


PEIVATE 


COUNTY 


Holiday  giving 

Holiday  giving  by  schools 

Families  given  to  church  and  other  societies  to  care  for 

Families  given  clothing  and  household  furniture 

Infants '  clothing  furnished 

School  children  furnished  shoes,  clothing,  etc. 

Red  Cross  Funds 

Store  conducted 

Money  loaned 

Work  for  idle  men  and  women  secured 

'Authority  to  judge  between  public  care  and  private  charity 
Prevent  locating  of  undesirables 
Regulating  and  nursing  of  tuberculosis  cases 
Confinements 
Care  of  infants 

Care  of  abandoned  and  neglected  ckildren 
Pursuit  of  deserting  husbands 
Home  nursing  and  surgical  dressings 
County  expenditures  for  food,  fuel  and  clothing"' 

The  association  is  buying  a  piece  of  property  and  is  conduct- 
ing a  "store."  This  is  really  a  rummage  store.  Second  hand 
garments  are  sold  to  those  able  to  pay  a  small  sum  or  are  given 
to  those  unable  to  pay.  The  profit  from  the  store  is  used  to 
liquidate  the  debt  on  the  property. 


46  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

One  very  interesting  and  unusual  piece  of  work  is  the  juven- 
ile Morals'  Commission,  established  by  the  association,  a  state- 
ment of  which  follows. 

The  purpose  and  objects  of  the  commission  are: 

(a)  To  investigate  improper  or  evil  practices  of  children,  and  the  neg- 
lect or  mismanagement  of  children  on  the  part  of  parents,  guar- 
dians or  others  having  their  care,  custody  or  control. 

(b)  To  obtain  information  relating  to  juvenile  dependents  and  delin- 
quents and  neglected  children,  at  Waterloo,  Iowa,  and  in  its  im- 
mediate vicinity. 

(c)  To  institute  and  maintain  measures  of  relief  and  correction  in  the 
homes  and  environment  of  delinquent,  dependent,  ill-used  or  neg- 
lected children. 

(d)  To  procure  and  submit  to  the  juvenile  court  evidence  relating  to 
the  cases  of  such  children  as  may  come  within  its  jurisdiction. 

(e)  To  perform  such  other  acts  as  may,  from  time  to  time,  be  deemed 
advisable  by  the  commission  for  promoting  the  welfare  of  depend- 
ent, neglected  or  friendless  children. 

The  members  of  the  commission,  in  carrying  out  the  purpose  and  objects 
of  its  organization,  shall  act  under  and  by  the  authority  of  the  juvenile 
court  of  Black  Hawk  County,  Iowa,  so  far  as  such  authority  may  be 
granted. 

The  officers  of  the  commission  shall  be  a  chairman,  and  secretary,  who 
shall  be  elected  by  the  members  of  the  commission  from  their  number,  and 
shall  hold  their  respective  offices  until  their  successors  are  elected. 

The  association  of  Charities  and  Corrections  of  Waterloo,  Iowa,  in  Oc- 
tober, 1915,  and  annually  thereafter,  shall  appoint  the  members  of  this 
commission,  and  fill  any  vacancies  which  may  occur  in  the  membership  of 
such  commission  before  the  next  annual  meeting  of  the  Association  of 
Charities  and  Corrections. 

The  Commission  may  adopt  such  rules  and  by-laws  for  its  own  govern- 
ment, as  may  from  time  to  time  be  considered  appropriate  to  the  accom- 
plishments of  the  object  of  its  creation."* 

November  1,  1915,  a  trained  worker,  a  young  woman  resident 
of  Waterloo,  was  appointed  overseer  of  the  poor  as  well  as  su- 
perintendent of  the  association  and  the  name  of  the  organiza- 
tion was  changed  to  Social  Welfare  League  of  Waterloo. 

Through  the  Social  Welfare  League  there  was  presented  to  the 
city  council  in  December,  1917,  the  necessity  for  a  plan  to  insure 
the  protection  of  givers  of  Waterloo.  The  city  council  was  sym- 
pathetic Avith  the  movement  and  the  business  men  helped  to 
urge  the  adoption  of  a  plan.  As  a  result  an  ordinance  was 
passed  prohibiting  the  soliciting  of  funds  (in  whole  or  in  part) 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  47 

for  any  War  Fund,  War  Aid  Fund  or  any  Charitable  Purpose 
whatsoever  except  upon  authorization  or  approval  of  the  Board 
of  Official  Censors.  This  Board  of  Official  Censors  consists  of 
five  persons  who  serve  without  compensation  and  who  are  ap- 
pointed by  the  mayor  with  the  approval  of  the  city  council. 
This  ordinance  was  passed  on  December  21,  1917.  The  first 
board  appointed  will  hold  office  until  the  first  Monday  in  April, 
1918,  and  each  succeeding  board  will  hold  office  for  the  succeed- 
ing two  years.  Miss  Ada  M.  Palmer,  who  is  secretary  of  the  So- 
cial Welfare  League,  was  elected  chairman  of  the  Board  of 
Official  Censors. 

The  Board  is  working  out  definite  forms  to  be  used  in  presen- 
tation of  requests  for  approval  in  reporting  the  work  of  the 
organization,  asking  for  a  certificate  of  approval  and  a  plan  for 
making  a  survey  and  directory  of  all  of  the  agencies  in  Water- 
loo which  solicit  funds  through  private  subscriptions. 

OTTUMWA 

Before  a  meeting  of  the  business  men  of  Ottumwa  in  June 
1914,  there  was  outlined  the  advantages  of  concerted  action  in 
caring  for  the  needy  families. ^''^  Emphasis  was  placed  upon 
constructive  family  work,  that  is,  upon  the  effort  to  enable 
needy  families  to  care  for  themselves.  It  was  pointed  out  that 
no  arbitrary  plan  could  be  brought  to  the  city,  but  that  the 
plan  should  be  made  to  fit  the  peculiar  local  needs.  It  was  voted 
that  a  brief  survey  should  be  made  to  ascertain  just  what  the 
conditions  were,  what  the  needs  were,  and  what  plan  could  be 
worked  out  to  meet  these  needs.  Upon  the  invitation  of  the 
commercial  club,  the  Bureau  of  Social  Welfare  of  the  Extension 
Division  of  the  State  University  undertook  the  task.  The  com- 
mercial club  appointed  a  committee  with  which  the  investigator 
was  in  constant  consultation,  a  desk  was  provided  in  the  com- 
mercial club  office,  and  tlie  business  men  gave  every  possible 
help.  Each  new  development  was  reported  to  the  connnercial 
club  committee,  and  the  plan  gradually  took  definite  shape  as 
the  committee  reviewed  the  data  secured.  Representatives  of  all 
the  different  societies,  lodges,  and  churches  were  interviewed, 
and  lists  of  the  families  they  had  assisted  and  tlie  amounts  of 


48  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

money  expended  during  the  preceding  year  were  obtained. 
Hospitals,  parks,  schools,  the  mission,  county  home,  county  and 
city  jail.  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  Young  Wo- 
men's Christian  Association  were  visited.  The  judge  of  the  dis- 
trict court,  the  police  judge,  the  county  attorney,  the  county  and 
city  physician,  and  other  officials  were  interviewed,  were  ques- 
tioned as  to  local  conditions,  and  their  cooperation  was  enlisted 
in  a  plan  for  constructive  family  work. 

The  investigator  was  invited  to  the  meetings  of  the  directorate 
boards  of  both  the  commercial  club  and  of  the  retail  dealers' 
association.  It  was  shown  what  the  organization  of  a  central 
agency  to  deal  with  the  family  needs  would  mean  to  Ottumwa. 
It  was  argued  that  it  was  good  business  to  make  systematic, 
adequate,  and  really  helpful  provision  for  the  needs  of  the  poor 
of  the  city.  "Key"  people  in  the  city  were  personally  inter- 
viewed and  interested  in  the  effort  to  work  out  a  local  plan.  The 
overseer  of  the  poor  was  of  great  assistance  in  giving  the  names 
of  all  families  aided  by  the  county,  and  much  valuable  data  in 
regard  to  their  home  conditions.  A  card  catalogue  was  made 
showing  the  number  of  families  aided  during  the  previous  year, 
and  the  total  amounts  expended  by  all  the  different  local  agen- 
cies. Visits  were  made  to  a  number  of  these  families,  the  loca- 
tion of  whose  homes  covered  a  wide  territory.  The  different 
families  were  encouraged  to  tell  their  stories,  not  that  it  might 
be  determined  whether  the  family  should  or  should  not  have  re- 
lief, but  that  some  knowledge  of  its  personal  attitude  and  living 
conditions  might  be  secured. 

Near  the  close  of  the  survey,  a  conference  of  the  board  of  super- 
visors, the  commercial  club  committee  and  the  investigator  was 
held  in  the  office  of  the  commercial  club.  The  supervisors  were 
told  that  the  business  men  of  the  city  were  desirous  of  organizing 
a  central  agency  to  take  care  of  all  the  relief  work  of  the  com- 
munity, that  the  work  of  caring  for  needy  poor  families  had 
been  done  in  most  haphazard  fashion,  that  business  men.  were  be- 
ing constantly  solicited,  and  that  practically  no  effort  was  being 
made  to  encourage  families  to  take  care  of  themselves.  It  was 
explained  that  the  commercial  club  committee  hoped  the  w^ork  of 
this  new  organization  would  so  commend  itself  to  the  board  of 
supervisors  that  the  secretary,  a  trained  worker,  would  be  ap- 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  4d 

pointed  overseer  of  the  poor.  Through  this  plan,  it  was  believed 
much  money  could  be  saved  to  the  community,  and  that  depend- 
ent families  would  be  encouraged  to  become  independent  and 
self-supporting.  The  supervisors  were  not  asked  to  declare 
themselves  in  favor  of  the  plan.  It  was  pointed  out  that  this 
friendly  consultation  v>  as  simply  to  acquaint  them  Avith  the  plan 
and  its  possibilities. 

The  ministerial  association  composed  of  ministers  of  the  local 
churches  also  had  the  plan  presented  to  them.  The  ministerial 
association,  in  fact,  had  initiated  the  movement.  They  liad  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  present  the  need  for  organized  charity  to 
the  commercial  club,  and  the  commercial  club  had  then  appointed 
its  committee,  including  as  a  member,  the  chairman  of  the  min- 
isterial association  committee.  After  the  commercial  club  took 
up  the  mattei',  the  ministerial  association  had  dropped  into  the 
background,  none  the  less  interested,  but  feeling  that  the  busi- 
ness men  were  the  proper  persons  to  carry  through  the  organiza- 
tion. From  September  12  to  15,  1914,  a  publicity  campaign  was 
conducted  to  explain  the  working  of  a  central  organization  and 
to  show  the  need  for  a  trained  worker.  Among  the  meetings  ad- 
dressed by  the  investigator  was  an  open  meeting  of  the  Elks 
Lodge.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  after  the  organization  of  the 
Associated  Charities,  the  Elks  Lodge  made  a  pledge  of  $200.00. 

The  campaign  was  concluded  with  a  banquet  at  the  commer- 
cial club  headquarters.  At  this  meeting  a  full  report  of  condi- 
tions was  given,  and  specific  recommendations  were  made.  The 
report  was  adopted,  and  a  directing  board  was  elected,  with 
members  not  only  from  Ottumwa,  but  from  nearby  towns.  The 
name  chosen  was  the  Associated  Charities  of  Wapello  County, 
and  the  budget  decided  upon  was  $5,000.00,  part  of  which  was 
for  an  emergency  relief  fund,  and  the  rest  for  the  employment 
of  a  trained  social  worker  and  other  administrative  expenses. 
Besides  the  relief  department,  an  employment  exchange  was 
planned,  together  with  a  joint  registration  bureau,  where  all 
agencies  might  register  in  a  confidential  file  the  names  of  the 
families  aided  by  them,  and  so  prevent  duplication  and  over- 
lapping. Attention  was  to  be  given  to  the  problem  of  neglected, 
dependent,  and  delinquent  children,  and  the  office  was  to  serve 


50  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

as  a  center  to  which  all  families  and  individuals  soliciting  aid 
might  be  sent,  their  needs  provided  for,  and  effort  made  to 
establish  self-maintenance.  The  new  organization  was  designed 
also  as  a  central  place  to  which  homeless  men  might  be  referred, 
throiigli  which  they  might  secure  work  to  pay  for  their  lodging 
and  meals  if  they  were  able-bodied,  and  through  which,  if  they 
were  ill,  they  might  be  taken  care  of  and  given  medical  aid  until 
their  family  or  place  of  residence  could  be  learned. 

Ottumwa,  a  city  of  22,000  people,  had  expended  in  one  year 
no  less  than  $25,000  for  its  needy  poor,  and  a  conservative  es- 
timate based  upon  tlie  returns  from  the  different  societies,  placed 
the  number  of  families  aided,  either  continuously  or  intermit- 
tently, as  300  or  in  the  neighborhood  of  1,500  individuals.  The 
city  had  given  1,449  lodgings  to  transient  men  at  the  city  jail 
without  further  provision  for  them.  It  was  also  shown  that 
some  of  the  dwelling  houses  were  in  a  deplorable  condition,  and 
that  home  conditions  were  in  many  instances  pitiable.  Desertion 
and  non-support  were  allowed  to  go  unpunished.  Physical 
needs  were  not  properly  investigated  nor  was  insistence  placed 
upon  the  physical  examination  and  adherence  to  the  recom- 
mended plan  for  restoration  to  health. 

The  report  of  the  survey  submitted  to  the  commercial  club 
included  the  following  statements: 

A  study  of  the  data  secured  relative  to  family  conditions  leads  to  some 
very  definite  conclusions  which  were  substantiated  by  the  experience  of 
Ottumwa  charity  workers. 

1.  There  has  been  considerable  duplication. 

2.  Investigations  have  too  often  been  superficial.  The  family's  story 
has  been  taken  at  face  value.  Little  effort  has  been  made  to  get  at 
the  root  cause  of  the  family's  condition. 

3.  As  a  result,  relief  has  been  too  easily  obtained. 

4.  There  has  been  no  systematic  keeping  of  records.  It  is  difficult  to 
get  definite  information  about  the  families.  Sometimes  only  the  name 
was  learned.  The  overseer  of  the  poor  has  a  complete  list  of  aU 
families  assisted  and  some  data.     Each  society,  of  course,  keeps  an 

account  of  the  expenditures.     Few  have  gone  farther  than  that. 

5.  Very  little  follow-up  work  has  been  done.  Too  often  effort  has 
ceased  with  the  supplying  of  clothing,  groceries,  or  coal.  The  possi- 
bility of  making  the  family  self-supporting  and  an  active  factor  in 
the  economic  well-being  of  the  city  has  been  too  often  ignored. 

6.  The  women  seem  to  have  been  the  ones  to  make  the  applications  for 
relief,  and  children  have  been  permitted  to  come  asking  for  supplies. 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  51 

Thi8  is  a  very  serious  condition.  Children  learn  all  too  soon  the  les- 
sons of  poverty,  and  they  easily  develop  into  first-class  beggars.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  a  man  is  able-bodied  and  not  working,  he  should 
be  the  one  to  ask  for  assistance.  The  responsibility  of  the  family 
is  his,  and  he  should  be  forced  to  assume  it. 

In  addition  to  the  recommendations  for  the  creation  of  an 
Associated  Charities  with  trained  workers,  recommendations 
were  made  for  an  educational  campaign  as  to  the  prevention  of 
tuberculosis,  sanitary  precautions,  and  care  of  tuberculosis 
patients. 

The  report  gave  the  following  summary: 

The  problem  of  Ottumwa  is  to  reduce  the  number  of  families  who  are 
recipients  of  aid,  to  build  up  independent  family  life  and  to  coordinate 
the  charitable  effort  of  the  city.  The  spirit  of  the  different  agencies  is 
expressed  in  their  sincere  desire  to  be  of  help  to  those  in  distress.  The 
difficulty  has  been  that  too  little  attention  has  been  given  to  the  enforcing 
of  family  responsibility.  Too  little  has  been  demanded  of  the  family.  Too 
little  effort  has  been  made  to  remove  the  fundamental  causes  of  distress. 
Too  little  consideration  has  been  given  to  the  effect  upon  the  family  of 
the  generous  gifts  bestowed.  The  easiest  way  for  the  giver  is  to  give 
without  question  and  for  the  recipient  to  take  what  is  offered.  Home 
conditions,  personal  characteristics,  resources  and  possibilities  must  be 
studied  in  order  to  reach  an  intelligent  conclusion  as  to  cause,  needs  and 
remedy.  If  the  money  that  is  now  being  used  for  relief  purposes  could 
be  used  for  the  employment  of  trained  service  to  dispense  what  is  really 
needed,  there  is  no  question  but  that  there  would  be  a  big  saving  in  actual 
dollars. 

One  distinct  service  an  Associated  Charities  would  render  would  be  the 
uncovering  to  the  public  of  local  social  conditions  that  are  productive  of 
sickness  and  poverty.  The  daily  visits  to  the  homes  of  the  poor,  and  in- 
timate acquaintance  with  their  stories  and  their  problems,  a  first  hand 
knowledge  of  their  needs,  would  give  a  splendid  basis  for  community  ac- 
tion.>°« 

The  Associated  Charities  of  Wapello  County  was  organized 
September  15,  1914.  As  a  proof  of  the  hold  the  movement  had 
taken  on  the  community,  over  $4,000.00  of  the  $5,000.00  budget 
was  pledged  before  the  office  was  opened.  Soon  after  the  new 
secretary  took  office,  two  of  the  district  court  judges  issued  an 
order  making  the  secretary,  official  investigator  of  all  widows' 
pension  cases.  March  1,  1915,  the  secretary  was  appointed 
overseer  of  the  poor  by  the  county  board  of  supervisors.    In  Oc- 


52  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

tober,  1915,  the  county  agreed  to  pay  one-half  of  the  secretary's 
salary  as  overseer  of  the  poor,  and  to  pay  one-half  of  overhead 
expenses  to  the  amount  of  twenty-five  dollars  a  month.  This 
centralization  brought  private  relief,  county  relief,  and  the  in- 
vestigation of  widows'  pensions  under  the  central  board.  In 
addition,  the  Associated  Charities  of  Wapello  County  acts  as 
the  clearing  liouse  for  the  entire  community,  has  put  into  oper- 
ation a  joint  registration  bureau,  looks  after  the  welfare  of  the 
dependent,  neglected  and  even  delinquent  children,  has  cooper- 
ated with  the  civic  forces  in  "clean-up"  and  anti-tuberculosis 
campaigns,  and  is  leading  in  an  effort  to  improve  home  condi- 
tions. It  has  organized  a  liouse-keeping  club,  and  is  teaching 
food  values,  preparation  of  foods,  and  the  purchasing  of  food. 
The  following  statement  gives  specific  results  of  the  first  year's 
activity. 

Figures  can  never  measure  all  the  results  of  a  social  service  whose  first 
object  is  human  welfare.  A  "dollar  and  cents"  interpretation  is  possible 
in  a  few  instances:  eight  aged  persons  provided  for  and  removed  from 
the  county  books,  saving  $630.00  per  year;  seven  families  provided  for, 
preventing  future  dependents,  saving  approximately  $1800.00  per  year;  six 
families  returned  to  self-support,  saving  $640.00  a  year;  three  families 
made  partially  self-supporting,  saving  $250.00  per  year. 

On  the  grounds  of  sufficient  income  and  the  ability  of  relatives  legally 
liable  for  support,  the  court  has  dismissed  ten  pensions  and  reduced 
three,  saving  $1,742  per  year  or  a  total  of  $12,429  until  each  child  reached 
fourteen  years  of  age;*  six  applications  the  court  "denied  on  merit" 
saving  $900  a  year;  seven  applications  discouraged  and  helped  in  return- 
ing to  self-support,  saving  $1000  per  year;  fifty-two  pensions  current  Jan- 
uary 1,  1915;  total  $178.25  a  week;  thirty-four  pensions  current  October 
1,  1916;  total  $115.75  per  week. 

With  the  cooperation  of  the  city  administration  and  the  police  depart- 
ment, the  number  of  blind  and  crippled  beggars  who  ply  their  trade 
on  crowded  street  corners,  has  been  reduced.  Investigation  showed  one 
worth  $6,000.00;  another  receiving  regular  relief  from  home  county. t 

To  protect  the  housewife  and  business  man,  we  urge  refusal  of  aid,  ex- 
cept in  exchange  for  work  and  the  sending  of  persons  to  the  office  where 
we  give  work  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  cents  an  hour  for  a  fifteen  to  thirty 
cent  meal.  Three  hundred  and  thirty-seven  men  have  come  and  have 
worked  for  404  meals  at  a  cost  of  $68.00.  Sick  men  were  helped  without 
work.     We  are  now  working  on  a  plan  of  cooperation  enforcing  the  new 


•Before  the  law  changed  the  age  limit  to  sixteen  years. 

tin  1917  the  legislature  passed  a  hiw  giving  oities  and  towns  power  by 
ordinance  to  suppress,  restrain,  and  prohibit  begging  in  and  on  the  streets 
and  other  public  places  and  to  provide  punishment  for  the  violation  of  iuch 
ordinance. 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  53 

vagrancy  ordinance,  requiring  every  able-bodied  man  to  work  for  meals 
and  lodging. 

Ten  families  have  been  ' '  passed  on "  to  Wapello  County.  This  prac- 
tice is  inhuman.  We  refuse  transportation  except  after  we  receive  word 
from  reliable  persons  at  the  destination  assuring  care,  then  we  provide 
a  ticket  clear  through. 

The  whole  field  of  juvenile  work  has  been  touched  only  by  the  board  of 
education.  Children  needing  the  protection  of  the  juvenile  court  and  par- 
ents needing  its  discipline,  are  being  referred  to  us.  We  are  doing  the 
work  of  a  court  officer  in  gathering  evidence,  filing  petitions  and  in  many 
instances  serving  summons  and  subpoenas. 

The  board  of  supervisors,  township  trustees,  district  court  and  private 
citizens  in  the  county,  refer  for  investigation  and  conference  conditions  in 
any  part  of  the  county.  We  are  working  on  a  plan  for  a  county-wide  study 
of  health  and  living  conditions,  and  have  organized  friendly  visiting  in 
some  of  the  villages. 

In  our  '  *  Combination  Program ' '  county  funds  provide  for  general  re- 
lief and  charity  funds  for  personal  social  service  and  special  needs  which 
cannot  be  met  by  the  public  money.*"' 


BURLINGTON 

In  Burlington  the  local  charity  organization  passed  out  of  ex- 
istence in  September,  1914,  but  during  the  winter  months  the 
city  was  forced  to  recognize  its  loss  and  set  about  securing  cen- 
tral organization.  The  commercial  exchange  took  the  initiative. 
All  of  the  other  social  agencies  were  interested.  A  survey 
was  made  under  the  auspices  of  the  Bureau  of  Social 
Welfare  of  the  State  University,  the  data  for  which  were 
gathered  largely  by  local  volunteer  workers.^"*  As  a  re- 
sult the  Social  Service  League  was  formed  with  represen- 
tatives from  all  federated  societies.  All  the  organizations 
agreed  to  discontinue  relief  and  to  turn  all  applications 
over  to  the  Social  Service  League.  The  Burlington  Relief  So- 
ciety and  the  Visiting  Nurse  Association  disbanded  and  were 
merged  in  the  League ;  a  central  registration  bureau,  with  con- 
fidential file  ,  was  established,  and  in  the  one  office  are  housed 
the  general  secretary,  who  is  also  truant  officer,  the  visiting 
nurse,  the  school  nurse  and  the  county  relief  agent,  or  overseer 
of  the  poor.  In  Burlington  the  county  relief  is  not  handled 
by  the  secretary  of  the  Social  Service  League,  so  that  Burling- 
ton does  not  represent  as  complete  a  combination  plan  as  Wa- 


54  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

terloo  or  Grinnell,  but  it  illustrates  a  high  degree  of  cooperation 
on  the  part  of  various  private  charities,  which  it  is  hoped  may 
lead  eventually  to  a  definite  combination  plan. 

FORT  DODGE 

In  January,  1915,  the  combination  plan  was  made  effective  in 
Fort  Dodge  through  the  appointment  of  the  secretary  of  the  As- 
sociated Charities  as  overseer  of  the  poor.  From  January  to 
October,  1915,  twelve  families,  who  during  the  preceding  year 
received  a  total  of  $1,646.20,  because  of  different  arrangements 
now  received  only  $429.64.  As  these  arrangements  were  practi 
cally  forced  by  the  trained  social  worker,  a  saving  of  $1,218.56 
was  made  here.  Investigations  have  been  made  in  surrounding 
towns  for  some  of  the  supervisors ;  trustees  have  sent  some  of 
their  charges  to  the  secretary  for  various  services.'"^  The  sec- 
retary is  also  truant  officer. 

CEDAR  RAPIDS 

The  combination  plan  was  adopted  in  Cedar  Rapids  after  a 
survey  made  by  the  Bureau  of  Social  Welfare  of  the  Extension 
Division  of  the  University  in  February,  1916.  From  September, 
1915,  to  February,  1916,  a  period  of  five  months,  595  families 
had  been  given  aid,  and  not  less  than  $30,000.00  had  been  ex- 
pended by  all  agencies,  public  and  private,  for  the  relief 
of  families  in  their  homes.  The  county  board  of  supervisors, 
the  commercial  club  and  the  Sunshine  mission,  the  largest  pri- 
vate relief-giving  agency,  were  responsible  for  the  survey,  and 
interested  in  a  plan  for  federating  all  the  poor  relief  activity 
of  Cedar  Rapids.  The  report  of  the  survey  included  the  follow- 
ing statements  and  recommendations : 

The  problem  in  Cedar  Eapids  is  to  coordinate  the  poor  relief  of  the 
city,  and  to  reduce  the  number  of  families  who  are  recipients  of  aid,  by 
restoring  as  many  as  possible  to  self-support. 

In  every  city  there  are  many  men  and  women  who  wish  to  do  what  they 
can  to  assist  those  who  are  unfortunate.  They  wish  to  be  truly  helpful, 
but  the  difficulty  is  that  they  do  not  always  know  what  to  do  or  how  aid 
should  be  given.  This  volunteer  service  is  one  of  the  splendid  resources 
of  Cedar  Rapids  which  has  scarcely  been  touched. 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  55 

On  the  basis  of  conditions  found  the  Bureau  of  Social  Welfare  would 
respectfully  recommend:  (1)  the  creation  of  a  central  agency  to  be  called 
the  Social  Welfare  Board  or  Social  Service  League,  under  the  direction  of 
a  board  of  business  men  and  women  representative  of  the  various  interests  in 
Cedar  Eapids;  (2)  the  employment  of  a  trained  charity  worker  as  secre- 
tary of  this  central  agency  with  sufficient  helpers  to  make  the  plan  effect- 
ive; (3)  the  employment  of  a  visiting  nurse  for  the  education  and  care 
of  the  sick  in  their  homes;  (4)  the  installation  of  a  complete  and  up-to-date 
filing  svstem  for  case  records:  (5)  the  establishment  of  a  confidential  ex- 
change in  which  may  be  registered  confidentially  the  names  of  all  families 
and  individuals  receiving  aid  from  societies,  churches,  public  officials,  or 
individuals;  (6)  the  turning  over  of  its  charity  work  among  families  by 
the  Sunshine  mission  to  the  central  office;  (7)  the  development  of  a  cen- 
tral employment  agency  at  the  Sunshine  mission;  (8)  the  addition  to  the 
elected  board  of  the  central  agency  of  the  county  board  of  supervisors  as 
members  ex-officio  and  the  handling  of  the  county  relief  work  through  the 
central  office;  (9)  the  adoption  by  business  men  of  a  policy  of  making  the 
registration  at  the  central  office  of  all  cases,  a  condition  of  endorsement 
of  any  society  and  of  referring  all  those  applying  for  aid  to  the  central 
office."" 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  investigate  the  details  of  the 
plan  and  to  report  at  another  meeting  to  be  held  a  week  later. 
This  committee  after  conferring  with  the  board  of  supervisors 
and  the  commercial  club,  recommended  in  detail  the  combination 
plan  suggested  in  the  original  report.  Their  recommendation 
was  accepted  and  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Social  Welfare 
League  elected.  This  board  then  organized,  chose  its  officers, 
and  employed  a  trained  worker  who  is  now  carrying  on  the 
work  of  the  League  and  acting  as  overseer  of  the  poor. 

The  combination  plan  went  into  effect  August  1,  1916.  From 
August  1,  1916  to  August  1,  1917,  the  amount  of  poor  relief 
expended  from  county  funds  was  reduced  from  60  to  70  per 
cent,  and  the  supervisors  wlio  had  been  paying  $65.00  a  month 
on  the  .$100.00  salary  of  the  worker,  assumed  the  entire  salary 
and  raised  it  to  $125.00  a  month. ^" 

The  combination  plan  is  thus  seen  to  be  in  force  in  six  Iowa 
cities:  Grinnell,  Oskaloosa,  Waterloo,  Ottumwa,  Fort  Dodge,  and 
Cedar  Rapids.  This  plan  prevents  a  waste  and  insures  effi- 
ciency. It  means  that  to  a  degree  seldom  before  attained,  each 
dollar  ^\ill  be  placed  where  it  will  do  the  most  good.    While  it 


56  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

is  true  that  the  first  year  the  plan  was  in  operation  in  Grinnell, 
forty  per  cent  of  the  previous  year's  expenditure  was  saved, 
and  better  results  v.ere  obtained,  a  record  of  a  small  amount  of 
money  expended  for  relief  does  not  necessarily  spell  efficiency 
of  administration.  The  refusal  of  aid  because  there  is  an  able- 
bodied  man  in  the  family,  or  because  it  is  thought  that  the  fam- 
ily had  been  aided  once  and  should  be  able  to  manage,  is  not 
sufficient.  Inquiry  should  be  made  to  learn  why  the  applicntion 
is  made,  in  order  to  aid  the  family  intelligently.  Aid  should  be 
adequate  to  insure  normal  living.  If  through  inadequate  aid 
families  must  live  below  the  normal  standard,  the  almost  iiievi- 
table  result  is  a  breaking  down  of  health,  of  family  life,  and  of 
moral  standards;  the  family  may  be  forced  to  beg  and  may 
eventually  drift  into  chronic  pauperism.  A  large  number  of 
families  continually  soliciting  alms  and  making  little  or  no 
effort  to  take  care  of  themselves  is  a  big  drain  upon  any  city's 
resources,  and  involves  a  condition  which  should  be  prevented. 
A  plan  of  treatment  that  provides  for  actual  needs,  but  which 
also  includes  an  effort  to  learn  the  cause  and  to  remove  it,  is  to 
be  advocated.  It  is  to  the  interest  of  every  citizen  of  the  com- 
munity that  destitution  and  distress  should  be  relieved  and  that 
an  effort  be  made  to  help  needy  fellow-citizens  to  become  self- 
supporting  and  productive  factors  in  community  life.  Some 
people  need  relief  at  certain  times  who  object  to  receiving 
aid  from  the  county.  For  the  care  of  these  people  private  relief 
funds  should  always  be  provided.  It  has  been  proved  that  pri- 
vate relief  agencies  and  county  officials  can  adopt  a  definite  plan 
of  cooperation  on  an  economical  as  well  as  a  highly  efficient 
basis. 

The  "Iowa  Plan"  of  combining  all  social  forces  under  a  cen- 
tral board  of  citizens,  with  the  county  officials  members  ex-of- 
ficiis,  can  be  adjusted  to  meet  the  needs  of  any  locality,  whether 
city,  town,  or  rural  district,  through  intelligent  cooperation  of 
public  and  private  agencies.  The  entire  plan  need  not  be 
adopted  at  once,  but  may  be  inaugurated  as  a  privately  sup- 
ported society  eventually  assuming  the  duties  of  public  officials, 
as  was  done  at  Ottumwa.  The  plan  insures  protection  of  de- 
pendent and  delinquent  children,  makes  possible  the  rehabili- 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  57 

tation  of  dependent  families,  and  protects  the  tax-payers 
through  its  efficient  conserving  of  funds. 

The  great  service,  however,  which  the  "combination  scheme" 
renders  to  Iowa  to^vns  is  constructive  work  with  the  families. 
This  is  the  reason  for  combining  in  the  person  of  the  trained 
charity  worker  the  offices  of  overseer  of  the  poor  and  the  sec- 
retary of  the  social  service  league,  public  welfare  association,  or 
associated  charities.  It  gives  to  the  worker  an  official  position, 
which  makes  possible  the  harmonizing  of  the  many  divergent 
interests  of  the  community,  opens  the  way  for  investigation  of 
widows'  pension  cases,  retains  the  advantage  of  having  a  fund 
raised  by  private  contributions  for  use  of  those  special  emer- 
gency cases  which  it  is  not  desired  to  make  county  charges,  and 
creates  a  board  of  private  citizens,  serving  without  pay  and 
directing  the  policy  of  social  work  in  the  community,  and  in 
large  measure    removing  it  from  any  political  domination. 

It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  members  of  the  county  board 
of  supervisors  are  members  cx-officiis  of  this  board,  and  that  the 
scheme  is  cooperative.  County  and  private  funds  are  kept  sep- 
arate, as  are  the  records  of  families  aided  by  each.  The  secre- 
tary, as  overseer  of  the  poor,  is  directly  responsible  to  the 
board  of  supervisors  for  the  expenditure  of  county  funds,  and 
regularly  submits  a  formal  report  to  them  in  addition  to  the  re- 
port submitted  to  the  entire  board  for  the  conduct  of  all  of  the 
activities  of  the  office. 


VIII 
A  STATE  PROGRAM 


This  analysis  of  the  administrative  machinery  for  the  relief 
of  the  poor  in  Iowa  has  shown  the  definite  provisions  made  by 
legislation ;  has  outlined  the  application  of  the  law  in  Polk 
County;  has  summed  up  the  cost  of  charity  to  the  state  and 
pointed  out  the  variations  and  difficulties  of  administration.  To 
meet  these  problems,  a  number  of  cities  have  adopted  a  combina- 
tion of  public  and  private  relief  in  the  hands  of  a  trained  exec- 
utive, which,  while  it  has  been  successful  to  an  unusual  degree, 
has  certain  dangers  which  should  be  recognized. 

(1)  Such  a  system  has  within  it  the  possibility  of  becoming 
autocratic.  The  very  fact  of  its  strength  in  dominating  the  sit- 
uation and  in  controlling  both  public  and  private  relief  may  re- 
sult in  the  assumption  of  a  dictatorial  policy. 

(2)  For  the  same  reason,  and  corollary  to  the  above,  the 
work  may  become  mechanical. 

(3)  The  saving  of  money  may  become  the  leading  item  in  the 
administrative  policy  regardless  of  results. 

(4)  Because  of  the  fact  that  the  worker  has  enlarged  pow- 
ers and  that  there  is  little  check  through  other  competing  or 
cooperative  charitable  agencies,  workers  may  assume  too  much 
responsibility  and  so  fail  to  keep  either  the  board  of  supervis- 
ors or  the  board  of  the  Social  "Welfare  League  generally  in- 
formed. This  tends  to  lessen  the  sense  of  responsibility  on  the 
part  of  the  boards  with  a  resultant  slackening  of  interest  and 
spontaneous  support. 

(5)  The  success  of  the  combination  plan  depends  largely 
upon  the  personality  of  the  worker  and  the  right  person  is  not 
always  easy  to  secure.  This  is  true,  of  course,  in  all  lines  of 
social  work,  but  especially  so  here  because  of  the  need  for  nice 
adjustments  and  the  avoidance  of  misunderstandings.     On  the 

(68) 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  59 

other  hand,  the  field  is  one  of  promise  and  makes  a  strong  ap- 
peal to  young  women  eager  to  develop  a  social  situation,  untram- 
meled  by  precedents  or  hard  and  fast  lines  of  conventional  ad- 
ministration. 

Wliile  these  dangers  exist,  they  are  more  than  counterbalanced 
by  the  actual  advantages  accruing  as  a  result  of  the  plan  from 
the  purely  administrative  side. 

(1)  Instead  of  untrained  administrators,  the  combination 
plan  makes  possible  the  employment  of  trained  charity  workers. 

(2)  It  results  in  the  installation  of  modern  business  methods 
of  keeping  records. 

(3)  It  brings  into  operation  more  adequate  investigations 
which  are  meant  to  show  not  only  whether  the  need  really  ex- 
ists, but  also  the  cause  for  the  need.  Then  forces  may  be  set  at 
work  to  remove  the  cause  and  to  rehabilitate  the  needy. 

(4)  It  has  been  shown  how  the  coordination  of  all  the  social 
activity  of  the  community  was  effected  under  the  combination 
plan.  For  example,  in  Grinnell,  the  Social  Service  League  has 
had  many  demands  made  upon  it  for  various  kinds  of  commun- 
ity service — garden  club  contests,  clean-up  day  campaigns,  a 
peace  pageant,  the  promotion  of  playground  supervision  and 
campaigns.  In  addition  to  her  regular  work  as  secretary  of  the 
Social  Service  League  and  overseer  of  the  poor,  the  trained 
worker  at  Grinnell  is  school  attendance  officer,  volunteer  proba- 
tion officer,  and  investigator  of  widows'  pension  cases. 

(5)  The  fact  that  relief  administration  is  centralized  and 
that  the  workers  in  this  central  office  have  at  their  finger's  ends 
the  social  conditions  of  the  community  gives  a  scientific  basis 
for  the  initiation  of  other  needed  social  movements.  In  Ottum- 
wa  a  dental  clinic  has  been  opened  and  an  anti-tuberculosis  cam- 
paign inaugurated.  Oskaloosa  and  Cedar  Rapids  have  been  suc- 
cessful in  securing  a  visiting  nurse. 

(6)  Another  specific  result  is  a  better  carrying  out  of  the  law 
through  intelligent  cooperation  of  the  various  agents  of  the  law. 
Two  examples  may  be  cited:  (a)  The  laAv  providing  for  widows' 
pensions  does  not  prescribe  any  definite  accounting  of  the  money 
received.  In  several  of  the  towns  where  the  combination  plan 
is  in  operation,  widows  receiving  pensions  are  required  to  keep 
accurate  account  of  aU  money  received  and  expended.     This 


60  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

gives  the  social  worker  an  opportunity  to  advise  about  expendi- 
tures and  to  keep  a  check  on  the  need  for  the  pension,  (b)  The 
law  providing  for  pensions  for  the  blind  does  not  prescribe  any 
investigation  of  the  applicant's  needs  so  that  aid  can  be  ad- 
justed to  meet  them.  The  clerk  receives  the  necessary  affidavits, 
including  the  physician's  report  and  the  statement  of  applicant 
and  witnesses  and  transmits  the  same  to  the  board  of  supervis- 
ors. In  Ottumwa,  in  February,  1916,  the  board  of  supervisors, 
county  attorney,  and  overseer  of  the  poor  had  a  conference  to 
consider  the  administration  of  the  law.  Decisions  reached  were 
"that  the  supervisors  were  empowered  to  use  their  discretion  in 
granting  a  pension, ' '  exploding  the  idea  that  a  person  would  be 
"entitled"  to  it  because  he  met  the  requirements  of  the  law. 
They  refer  all  applications  to  the  overseer  for  investigation  and 
report,  and  any  pension  granted  by  them  will  be  handled 
through  the  poor  relief  department  by  the  overseer,  requiring 
the  same  keeping  of  account  as  is  required  for  all  cash  orders 
issued.  They  will  refer  to  the  regular  relief  department,  per- 
sons who  are  not  able  to  handle  their  own  business  and  will  re- 
fuse the  pension,  which  if  granted,  must  be  one  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  a  year  unless  the  person  is  capable  of  working. 
This  point  was  emphasized  by  the  supervisors  who  had  already 
been,  approached  by  unscrupulous  persons  asking  the  privilege 
of  handling  the  money  for  the  prospective  pensioners.^^^ 

(7)  The  combination  plan  has  resulted  in  extending  the  doc- 
trine of  efficient  charity  over  the  county.  Secretaries  are  fre- 
quently asked  to  make  investigations  for  the  township  trustees, 
and  the  secretary  of  Ottumwa  has  organized  volunteer  groups 
in  the  small  to^vns  of  the  county  to  carry  on  as  best  they  can, 
constructive  work  among  the  needy  poor  families. 

(8)  This  plan  is  demonstrating  that  public  relief  can  be 
efficiently  handled  and  can  be  made  elastic  enough  to  cover  the 
unusual  cases  and  to  adjust  the  relief  to  the  individual  needs. 

(9)  It  has  tended  to  discard  the  words  "pauper"  and  "char- 
ity" and  to  substitute  the  idea  of  community  service,  social  ser- 
vice, or  social  welfare. 

(10)  Perhaps  one  of  the  greatest  gains  which  has  been  made 
under  this  plan  is  that  the  juvenile  court  and  truancy  work  may 
be  handled  by  a  trained  worker.    This  means  a  great  deal,  espe- 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  61 

cially  to  the  small  town  which  does  not  come  within  the  scope  of 
the  law  providing  for  regularly  paid  probation  officers. 

Repeatedly  the  question  is  asked  what  steps  are  necessary  for 
the  introduction  of  the  combination  plan.  The  community,  as 
a  whole,  must  be  aroused  to  the  need  for  adequate  provision 
for  the  care  of  the  needy  poor,  and  the  movement  should  be  pro- 
moted not  by  a  single  group  but  by  all  the  different  groups  en- 
gaged in  social  service  activity. 

In  any  event  the  interest  of  the  board  of  supervisors  and  of 
the  business  men  must  be  enlisted.  The  comity  fund  is  ordi- 
narily the  largest  relief  fund,  and  business  men  supply  the  funds 
for  private  charity,  so  that  these  two  forces  are  the  points  of 
greatest  strategic  importance.  Business  men  are  personally  in- 
terested because  the  town  is  their  home  and  therefore  they  have 
the  city's  well-being  at  heart.  They  realize  that  from  a  purely 
commercial  view-point  good  social  conditions  are  an  advertising 
asset,  and  that  in  the  end  the  community,  especially  the  business 
men,  pays  the  bills  for  bad  housing,  for  epidemics  growing  out 
of  improper  sanitation,  for  neglect  of  moral  protection  of  boys 
and  girls,  men  and  women,  and  for  a  large  dependent  population. 

In  order  to  arouse  public  sentiment  and  to  secure  data  show- 
ing need  for  combination,  a  local  study  should  be  made,  or  in 
other  words  a  social  survey  of  the  town  should  be  undertaken. 
No  social  program  can  be  worked  out  theoretically,  and  arbitrar- 
ily, and  then  be  superimposed  upon  a  w  aiting  people.  Such  a 
course  would  be  completeh^  ineffective  and  would  result  only  in 
failure.  A  program  should  be  flexible,  so  as  to  meet  new  condi- 
tions as  they  arise.  Furthermore,  it  should  not  be  so  complex 
that  citizens  are  confused  and  discouraged.  It  should  acquaint 
the  people  with  the  larger  possibilities  of  social  activity,  and 
should  indicate  the  relation  of  the  immediate  social  effort  to 
future  development.  The  survey  brings  vividly  to  tlie  minds  of 
people  their  own  home  city,  its  needs  and  it  resources,  and  helps 
to  organize  them  into  an  effective  whole. 

The  combination  plan  as  proposed,  should  make  use  of  re- 
sources already  organized  and  combine  related  social  activities. 
Some  cities  have  paid  probation  officers,  and  in  these  communi- 
ties no  attempt  should  be  made  to  combine  juvenile  court  work 


62  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

and  that  of  the  poor  relief.    However,  the  overseer  should  work 
in  close  cooperation  with  the  probation  officers. 

Dr.  G.  Hardy  Clark,  formerly  of  Waterloo,  suggested  that  a 
law  be  passed  giving  the  board  of  supervisors  authority  to  ap- 
point a  county  social  welfare  board  of  twelve  members  to  serve 
six  years  without  pay.     An  outline  of  his  proposal  follows: 

1.  This  board  (a)  to  be  appointed  by  the  county  board  of  supervisors; 
(b)  to  consist  of  twelve  members;  (c)  to  be  selected  to  represent 
the  cities,  towns  and  country  districts  in  proportion  to  population; 
(d)  its  members  to  serve  not  less  than  six  years. 

2.  The  board  to  employ  (a)  county  overseer  of  the  poor  who  will  act 
as  secretary  and  executive  officer  of  the  board;  (b)  nurses  for  county 
institutions,  public  schools,  city,  town  and  county  inspection,  and  for 
the  general  purposes  of  visiting  nurses. 

3.  The  board  to  employ  medical  attendants  for  the  poor  farm,  deten- 
tion hospital,  tuberculosis  hospital,  jail,  and  other  purposes. 

4.  The  board  to  expend  or  distribute  all  funds  and  supplies  contributed 
by  the  public  for  relief  work  in  the  cities,  towns,  and  rural  districts. 

5.  The  board  to  supervise  and  control  the  care  and  disposition  of  all  de- 
serted, orphaned  and  illegitimate  children  born  or  resident  in  the 
county, 

6.  The  board  to  maintain  a  juvenile  morals  committee  under  and  by  the 
authority  of  the  juvenile  court. 

7.  The  supervisors  to  make  provision  for  needed  expenditures  of  the 
board  including  transportation  and  committee  work. 

8.  The  board  to  file  annually  with  some  central  agency  (state)  a  state- 
ment of  its  expenditures  and  of  the  moral,  sanitary  and  provident 
conditions  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  county,  together  with  recom- 
mendations looking  to  improvement  of  these  conditions."^ 

Professor  John  L.  Gillin  has  also  advocated  a  county  board  of 
charities  for  Iowa  to  improve  the  administration  of  out-door 
relief,  in  a  manner  similar  to  the  plan  of  Indiana,  which  includes 
a  county  board  for  this  purpose,  the  members  serving  without 
pay;  which  fixes  responsibility  upon  the  overseer  of  the  poor  of 
the  township  to  levy  a  tax  in  the  township  for  the  amount  ex- 
pended for  outdoor  relief  for  the  preceding  year;  and  which 
makes  mandatory  the  filing  of  reports  by  the  overseer  of  the 
poor  every  three  months,  one  copy  with  the  county  supervisors, 
one  with  the  state  board  of  charities,  and  one  with  the  county 
board  of  charities.  Professor  Gillin  recommends  that  the  Iowa 
State  Board  of  Control  prescribe  rules  for  the  overseers  of  the 
poor,  and  that  the  county  board  of  charities  should  be  author- 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  63 

ized  to  appoint  an  overseer  of  the  poor,  if  the  supervisors  do  not 
appoint  one  after  the  supenasors  have  discharged  the  overseer 
in  authority.  Professor  Gillin  states  that  in  his  opinion  the 
"center  of  difficulties"  is  the  overseer  of  the  poor.^^* 

The  legislature  of  Indiana  codified  the  poor  laws  in  1901. 
Indiana  is  proud  of  her  plan  for  out-door  relief.  ' '  The  poor  re- 
lief laws  as  now  in  force  proved  the  means  of  checking  tlie  ac- 
counts of  the  overseers  of  the  poor.  They  also  supply  what  is 
of  greater  importance,  an  opportunity  of  studying  the  state's 
problem  of  poverty  as  well  as  the  method  of  giving  relief  in 
such  a  way  as  least  to  encourage  dependence."  The  operation 
of  this  law  has  reduced  the  expenditure  of  county  poor  relief 
from  $560,012  in  1891  to  $279,967  in  1909.^^^ 

In  the  state  of  Massachusetts  the  pauper  department  of  each 
town  or  city  is  required  to  make  an  annual  report  to  the  State 
Board  of  Charities.  This  includes  a  report  for  every  family 
aided.  The  law  also  prescribes  that  the  master  of  every  alms- 
house must  keep  a  register  of  all  persons  received  and  file  with 
the  State  Board  of  Charities  a  complete  record. 

In  Ohio  elfort  has  been  made  to  secure  the  passage  of  a  law 
providing  for  boards  of  public  welfare.  The  promoters  of  the 
law  were  unable  to  secure  its  consideration  by  the  legislature  of 
1917  because  of  early  adjournment.^^^ 

The  stat€  of  North  Carolina  passed  an  act  establishing  a  State 
Board  of  Charities  and  Corrections  at  tlie  regular  session  of  the 
General  Assembly  in  1915.  This  act  provided  for  local  com- 
mittees, which  are  to  be  composed  of  three  persons,  one  of 
whom  must  be  a  member  of  the  local  board  of  health  and  one  a 
woman.  Their  duties  include  visitation,  inspection  and  report 
on  jails  and  alms-houses  in  their  respective  counties  or  cities,  and 
advice  and  lielp  to  local  charities  in  maintaining  such  institu- 
tions in  the  most  efficient  manner.  The  law  also  required  that 
the  state  board  shall  collect,  compile,  and  publish  statistics  re- 
garding dependent  and  delinquent  persons  both  in  and  out  of 
institutions  within  the  state."' 

The  legislature  of  Minnesota  passed  a  law  during  the  assembly 
of  1916-17  providing  for  County  Child  Welfare  Boards.  The 
State  Board  of  Control  upon  request  may  appoint  three  persons 
in  each  county,  at  least  two  of  whom  shall  be  women.      These 


64  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

persons  shall  serve  without  compensation  and,  together  with  a 
member  of  the  county  board  and  the  county  superintendent  of 
schools,  shall  constitute  the  Child  Welfare  Board  of  the  county. 
In  counties  where  no  Child  Welfare  Board  exists,  the  judge  of 
the  juvenile  court  may  appoint  a  local  agent  to  cooperate  with 
the  State  Board  of  Control.'^« 

In  Missouri  a  bill  was  introduced  in  the  legislature  in  1917, 
providing  for  the  creation  of  county  boards  of  public  welfare. 
The  members  of  these  boards,  who  were  to  serve  without  pay, 
were  to  be  the  three  judges  of  the  county  court  (who  are  the 
county  administrative  officers),  the  county  supervisor  of  schools, 
and  the  county  judges  hearing  children's  cases.  The  board  was 
to  appoint  the  county  superintendent  of  public  welfare  and  as- 
sistants. Only  those  holding  certificates  as  "qualified  social 
workers"  would  be  eligible.  Certificates  were  to  be  granted  by 
the  State  Board  of  Charities  after  competitive  examination. 
The  State  Board  of  Charities  was  to  be  given  supervisory  power 
to  make  the  plan  adaptable  to  small  towns  or  cities  in  the  county 
in  the  following  manner.  The  law  provided  that  towns  and 
cities  might  be  represented  on  the  county  board  of  public  wel- 
fare and  might  contribute  funds  to  its  work.  This  city-county 
board  as  proposed  is  similar  to  the  plan  in  St.  Joseph.  The  coun- 
ty board  of  public  welfare  w^ould  have  charge  of  probation  ser- 
vice, would  administer  mothers'  pensions,  would  supervise  pri- 
vate agencies  caring  for  children  and  would  institute  modern 
methods  in  charity  work.     The  law  failed  to  pass.^^^ 

Kansas  City,  Missouri,  has  had  a  board  of  public  welfare 
since  1909.  The  method  of  handling  charities  is  somewhat  un- 
usual. The  private  relief  society  is  called  the  Provident  Asso- 
ciation. According  to  the  report  of  1912,  the  Provident  Asso- 
ciation made  all  investigations  of  applicants  for  relief.  By 
virtue  of  this  service  rendered  for  the  board  of  public  welfare, 
the  city  paid  the  salary  of  ten  social  workers  who  were  under 
the  direction  of  the  superintendent  of  the  association.  This 
agreement  went  into  force  July  1,  1910.  Besides  the  ten  workers 
paid  by  the  city,  the  Provident  Association  paid  the  salaries  of 
three  other  workers.  The  cost  of  relief,  street-car  fares,  super- 
vision, and  all  other  expenses  was  met  by  the  Provident  Asso- 
ciation.    The  Kansas  City  board  of  public  welfare  also  con- 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  65 

ducted  a  research  bureau,  managed  vacant  lot  gardening,  pro- 
vided for  the  homeless  and  unemployed,  conducted  a  welfare 
loan  agency  and  legal  aid  bureau,  provided  for  recreation, 
looked  after  paroled  men  and  women,  and  conducted  a  woman's 
reformatory  and  a  municipal  farm.^^" 

For  St.  Joseph,  j\Iissouri,  "the  entire  work  of  the  city  is 
handled  by  a  social  welfare  board  created  by  law  in  1913.  The 
purposes  of  the  law  were  to  centralize  all  charitable  work  car- 
ried on  by  public  funds  in  one  board  and  to  reduce  and  pre- 
vent poverty  by  constructive  methods  as  opposed  to  the  former 
temporarj'^  relief  system."  The  welfare  board  expends  all  money 
appropriated  from  public  sources  for  charitable  work.  It  cares 
for  all  the  poor  in  the  city  of  St.  Joseph  with  the  exception  of 
persons  suffering  from  infectious,  contagious,  or  communicable 
diseases.  The  board  consists  of  eight  members,  the  presiding 
judge  of  the  county  court,  the  mayor,  and  six  appointed  mem- 
bers. These  members  are  appointed  yearly  to  serve  for  a  term 
of  three  years.  Each  year  two  members  are  appointed,  one  by 
the  county  court  and  one  by  the  mayor.  All  members  of  the 
board  serve  without  pay.  In  addition  to  the  care  of  the  poor 
of  the  city  the  following  departments  of  work  are  included: 
legal  aid,  employment  bureau,  wood  yard,  municipal  farms,  re- 
search bureau,  volunteer  service  department,  recreation  depart- 
ment maintaining  playgrounds,  burial  department,  home  medi- 
cal service,  dispensary,  obstetric  and  visiting  nurse,  and  hospital 
service.^^^ 

New  York  does  not  have  county  welfare  boards,  but  the  law 
provides  that  widows'  pensions  shall  be  administered  by  a 
board  of  child  welfare.  The  board  of  child  welfare  makes  inves- 
tigations and  recommends  to  the  board  of  supervisors  that  a 
certain  appropriation  be  given  them  to  care  for  widowed  moth- 
ers. A  variation  of  administration  is  to  be  found  in  Westches- 
ter county,  where  Mr.  V.  Everett  Macy,  as  superintendent  of  the 
poor,  has  revolutionized  the  administration  of  his  office.  Among 
other  things,  because  of  the  work  of  his  agents  in  investigating 
cases  of  children  for  whose  admission  to  children's  homes  ap- 
plications had  been  made,  he  discovered  the  need  for  keeping 
children  in  their  own  home,  and  in  order  to  carry  out  this  pol- 
icy secured  from  the  board  of  supervisors  an  appropriation  of 


66  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

$6,000.  When  the  board  of  child  welfare  was  appointed,  it  dis- 
covered that  Mr.  Macy,  as  superintendent  of  the  poor,  had 
already  been  taking  care  of  the  mothers  who  would  have  been 
pensioners  of  the  board  of  child  welfare.  This  has  obviated 
the  necessity  for  a  special  board  to  deal  with  the  problem.^** 

Three  combination  plans  actually  operated  in  three  different 
cities  may  be  noted  in  this  connection.  Akron,  Ohio,  has  a 
population  of  69,067.  The  secretary  of  the  Charity  Organiza- 
tion Society  is  director  of  the  department  of  public  charities. 
The  funds  for  general  relief  are  provided  by  the  city  appropria- 
tion. The  society  is  responsible  for  the  development  of  work 
along  constructive  lines.  The  exact  division  of  expenses  in  1914 
was  as  follows:  The  city  provided  a  fund  for  actual  relief  of 
resident  families  in  need  which  was  drawn  upon  by  the  Charity 
Organization  Society.  The  city  paid  the  salaries  of  one  assist- 
ant in  the  Charity  Organization  Society,  of  a  city  physician,  of 
two  nurses  and  one-third  of  the  salary  of  the  general  secretary 
of  the  Charity  Organization  Society.  The  Charity  Organization 
Society  paid  the  salary  of  two  other  visitors  and  a  stenographer. 
Complete  financial  reports  were  made  both  to  the  directors  of 
the  Charity  Organization  Society  and  to  the  city.  No  public 
money  passes  through  the  hands  of  the  director  of  public  char- 
ities who  is,  also,  general  secretary  of  the  Charity  Organization 
Society.  Bills  to  be  paid  from  the  public  fund  are  paid  by  the 
city  treasurer  after  audit  by  the  city  auditor.^^* 

In  Henderson,  Kentucky,  the  name  of  the  Associated  Chari- 
ties has  been  changed  to  Public  Welfare  Association.  AU  pau- 
per funds  are  administered  through  this  agency,  except  the 
small  amount  used  for  pauper  burials.  In  caring  for  cases  of 
need,  orders  are  given  by  the  secretary  of  the  Public  Welfare 
Association,  and  are  referred  at  the  end  of  the  month  to  the 
pauper  committee  of  the  city  council,  which  committee  approves 
the  bills.  In  the  relief  paid  for  by  the  city  are  included  gro- 
ceries, medicine,  shoes,  necessary  clothing,  temporary  board  and 
any  other  necessary  expenses.^*^ 

Owensboro,  Kentucky,  also  has  a  combination  plan  in  opera- 
tion. Before  this  arrangement  was  inaugurated,  the  mayor 
of  the  city  gave  relief.  After  the  organization  of  the  Associated 
Charities  the  council  transferred-  the  administration  of  all  city 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  67 

relief  to  the  Associated  Charities.  The  city  appropriated  $2,000 
for  relief  and  $500  for  administrative  expenses.  These  amounts 
are  not  appropriated  directly  to  the  Associated  Charities,  but 
after  the  month's  bills  are  approved  by  the  secretary,  the  chair- 
man of  the  joint  committee  of  the  Associated  Charities,  and  the 
council,  they  are  given  to  the  city  clerk,  who  pays  them  from 
the  city's  treasury,  and  who  also  gives  a  monthly  check  for  the 
administrative  expenses.  The  council  has  also  signfied  its  inten- 
tion to  pay  any  amount  necessary  in  excess  of  the  $2,000  allowed. 
The  mayor  sends  all  applicants  to  the  office  of  the  Associated 
Charities.  Transients  and  hospital  cases,  to  be  admitted  as 
charity  patients,  are  also  to  be  referred  for  investigation,  un- 
less the  hospital  case  should  be  an  emergency  one. 

In  addition  to  the  city  of  Owensboro,  two  districts  of  the 
county  are  in  charge  of  the  Associated  Charities.  The  county 
makes  no  appropriation  except  for  administrative  expenses,  but 
all  monthly  bills,  after  being  approved  by  the  Associated  Chari- 
ties, are  presented  at  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  county  board 
which  is  composed  of  the  magistrates  of  the  various  county  dis- 
tricts. After  the  bills  are  approved  by  them  a  check  is  given 
covering  the  full  amount  of  bills  incurred  during  the  month. 
This  is  deposited  in  the  treasury  of  the  Associated  Charities  and 
individual  checks  are  written  for  the  creditors.  The  adminis- 
trative expense  allowed  by  the  county  for  this  service  is  $40  a 
month.  In  addition  to  her  work  as  relief  administrator  the 
secretary  of  the  Associated  Charities  acts  as  juvenile  court  pro- 
bation officer,  and  with  the  aid  of  the  recreation  committee  of 
the  association,  supervised  some  playground  work  during  the 
summer  of  IdlBJ" 

THE  IOWA  SITUATION 

There  are  a  few  specific  changes  in  the  law  for  which  the  state 
is  ready  and  which  would  help  promote  wider  interest  in  social 
needs  and  also  would  give  the  different  communities  greater 
freedom  in  taking  care  of  local  needs.  Iowa  poor  laws  should 
be  codified  and  obsolete  sections  should  be  revised  to  accord 
with  modem  conditions.  For  example,  the  provision  limiting 
relief  to  the  amount  of  two  dollars  per  week  for  each  person, 


68  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

exclusive  of  medical  attendance,  should  be  amended.  The  law 
should  be  changed  so  that  children  may  not  be  kept  at  the 
county  home.  The  functions  of  overseer  of  the  poor  should  be 
removed  from  toM'nship  trustees,'^^  and  the  county  board  of 
supervisors  should  be  given  authority  to  appoint  an  overseer  of 
the  poor  for  the  entire  county  with  as  many  assistants  as  neces- 
sary. This  would  make  possible  the  employment  of  trained 
workers  in  counties  of  less  than  10,000  population. 

A  new  law  should  provide  for  the  appointment  by  the  State 
Board  of  Control  of  a  State  Commissioner  of  Charities,  who 
may  require  uniform  reports  of  county  relief  from  each  county 
overseer  of  the  poor.  This  Charities  Commissioner  should  also 
have  authority  to  standardize  records  and  to  establish  certain 
methods  of  work  to  promote  efficiency  of  administration.  Event- 
ually, perhaps,  this  law  might  be  extended,  and  a  State  Chari- 
ties Commission  be  authorized  to  have  supervisory  power  and 
authority  to  compel  standardization  of  work  in  children's  homes 
and  child-placing  agencies,  almshouses,  and  all  out-door  relief 
departraents.^^^ 

A  state-wide  survey  should  be  made  to  show  the  exact  social 
conditions  of  Iowa.  This  would  help  to  arouse  public  opinion 
to  support  changes  in  the  present  law,  and  would  give  a  basis 
for  more  progressive  measures  than  it  is  now  possible  to  advo- 
cate, such  as  a  state  law  providing  for  county  welfare  boards. 
This  is  all  the  more  important  inasmuch  as  the  general  agita- 
tion for  improved  poor  relief  administration  is  only  about  ten 
years  old,  and  has  borne  definite  results  only  within  the  past 
five  or  six  years. 

In  all  the  efforts  to  improve  the  efficiency  of  relief  on  the  more 
or  less  mechanical  side  of  administration,  the  need  for  intelli- 
gent, sympathetic  appreciation  of  the  struggles  of  the  needy 
poor  must  not  be  forgotten.  Human  kindness  must  always 
accompany  the  purely  scientific  administration  of  relief.  The 
charity  worker  must  be  able  to  recognize  the  good  to  be  found 
in  every  applicant  seeking  assistance,  and  must  be  cognizant 
that  the  need  for  material  relief  is  only  one  of  the  needs  of  those 
who  are  unable  to  maintain  themselves ;  that  the  greatest  need  is 
the  opportunity  for  self-support. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES. 


1.  state  census,  1915,  p.  XV. 

2.  State  census,  1915,  p.  XVI. 

3.  State  census,  1915,  pp.  606-607. 

4.  According  to  the  Iowa  census  the  urban  population  includes  all  people 
living  in  the  893  incorporated  places.  There  are  three  classes  of 
these;  cities  of  the  first  class,  having  15,000  or  more  population; 
cities  of  the  second  class,  with  2,000  population  or  less  than  15,000; 
towns,  which  have  less  than  2,000.  The  United  States  Census  Bureau 
classifies  as  urban,  all  incorporated  towns  of  2,500  or  over. 

5.  State  census,  1915,  p.  XXIX. 

6.  State  census,  1915,  p.  593. 

7.  Code  of  Iowa,  p.  779;  Supplement  (1913)  p.  848. 

8.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2252   (1897). 

9.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.,  2216  (1897). 

10.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2217  (1897). 

11.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2218  (1897). 

This  law  has  been  successfully  used  in  Polk  County  in  a  number  of 
cases. 

12.  In  the  code,  the  word  settlement,  is  used  instead  of  the  word  resi- 
dence. Settlement  is  the  technical  word  used  in  connection  with  the 
determination  of  eligibility  for  relief.  In  this  paper  the  word  resi- 
dence is  used  in  place  of  settlement. 

13.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2224-1  (1897). 

14.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2224-2   (1897). 

15.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2224-3   (1897). 

16.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2224-4  (1897). 

17.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2224-5   (1897). 

18.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2224-6   (1897). 

19.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2224-7   (1897). 

20.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.   2225    (1897). 

21.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2226  (1897). 

22.  Code  of  Iowa.   Sect.   2227    (1897). 

23.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2228  (1897). 

24.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2229   (1897). 

25.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  422,  Supplement    (1913). 
Sect.  2232   (1897). 

26.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  224T,  Supplement   (1913). 

27.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2234,  Supplement  (1913). 

28.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2237,  (1897). 

(69) 


70  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

29.  The  General  Assembly  (1917)  passed  a  law  to  amend  Sect.  2230  of 
the  Supplement  to  the  Code  (1913)  relating  to  compensation  for 
labor  by  the  poor.  The  law  had  stated  the  rate  as  five  cents  per  hour. 
The  amendment  provides  payment  "at  the  prevailing  local  rate  per 
hour. ' ' 

30.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2230,  Supplement   (1913). 

31.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2236   (1897). 

32.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  254-a20,  Supplement   (1913). 

33.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  254-al4,  Supplement  (1913).  The  law  as  given 
in  the  Supplement  of  the  Code  (1913)  states  that  the  allowance 
granted  shall  cease  when  the  child  reaches  the  age  of  fourteen  years. 
The  General  Assembly  of  1917  extended  it  to  sixteen  years. 

34.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  254-a20a,  Supplement  (1913). 

35.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  430,  Supplemental  Supplement.  Acts  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  1915. 

36.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  434-a,  Supplemental  Supplement.  Acts  of  the 
General  Assembly,  1915. 

37.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  431   (1897). 

38.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2722-j,  2722-k,  2722-1,  2722-n,  Chapter  10-A  Of 
County  Aid  for  the  Blind,  Supplemental  Supplement,  Acts  of  the 
General  Assembly,  1915. 

39.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2292,  Supplement  (1913)  ;  Sect.  254-h  Supple- 
mental Supplement  (1915). 

40.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2241,  Supplemental  Supplement,  Acts  of  the 
General  Assembly,  1915. 

41.  Code   of   Iowa,   Sect.    2243,    Supplement    (1913). 

42.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2244,  Supplement  (1913). 

43.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2245,  Supplement   (1913). 

44.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2244,  Supplement   (1913). 

45.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2249,  Supplement  (1913). 

46.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  733,  (1897). 

47.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  957,  (1897). 

48.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2292,  Supplement  (1913). 

49.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2308-a  Supplement  (1913). 

50.  Letter  from  F.  S.  Treat,  secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Control,  May 
18,  1917;  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2726,  Supplement  (1913)  and  Sect.  2697 
(1897). 

51.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2718a,  Supplement  (1913);  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect. 
2716   (1897). 

52.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2715,  Supplement  (1913). 

53.  Census  of  Iowa,  1915,  p.  687. 

54.  Study  made  by  the  Associated  Charities  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa.  Let- 
ter from  H.  S.  Hollingsworth,  general  secretary.  May  24,  1917. 

55.  See  Polk  County  Financial  Eeport,  1915,  p.  40. 

56.  See  Polk  County  Financial  Eeport,  1915,  p.  40. 

57.  From  the  records  of  the  Associated  Charities,  Des  Moines,  Iowa. 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  71 

58.  From  the  records  of  the  Associated  charities,  Des  Moines,  Iowa. 

59.  Mr.  A.  C.  Fisher,  a  member  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  Polk  County, 
Iowa,  explained  that  it  is  difficult  for  the  county  to  do  road  work  in 
the  winter  months  when  demand  for  employment  in  this  connection 
is  greatest. 

60.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2230,  Supplement  (1913). 

61.  In  Sioux  City,  Iowa,  the  city  and  county  cooperated  in  giving  em- 
ployment to  the  unemployed,  preference  being  given  to  resident  fam- 
ily men.  ' '  The  arrangement  was  to  the  effect  that  the  county  would 
furnish  the  married  men  with  four  hours  a  day  work  and  the  city 
would  furnish  the  single  men  with  four  hours  a  day  work.  The 
amount  paid  was  twenty-five  cents  an  hour."  (Letter  from  H.  L. 
Houghton,  probation  officer,  Sioux  City.) 

62.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect  5142  (1897)  reads:  "no  sheriff  or  jailer  shall  re- 
ceive and  no  board  of  supervisors  allow,  any  compensation  for  keeping 
or  boarding  any  tramp  in  the  jail  or  other  place  in  the  county,  unless 
such  tramp  has  been  duly  arrested  or  committed  under  the  provis- 
ions of  this  chapter  except  the  board  of  supervisors  of  each  county 
may  furnish  one  night 's  lodging  for  apparently  deserving  persons, 
and  those  who  are  sick  or  disabled  may  be  cared  for  as  the  neces- 
sities of  the  case  demand. ' ' 

63.  Letter  from  Mr.  G.  B.  Sheets,  overseer  of  the  poor,  Des  Moines,  Iowa, 
August  1,  1905. 

64.  Eussell  Sage  Foundation  blanks  now  used. 

65.  Information  given  summer  1915  by  A.  C.  Fisher,  member  of  the 
board  of  supervisors,  Polk  County. 

66.  See  Polk  County  Financial  Report,  1915,  p.  43. 

67.  From  the  records  of  the  Des  Moines  Associated  Charities. 

68.  Code  of  Iowa.  Sect.  4775-a   (1913). 

69.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sects.  254-a31;  254-a32 ;  254-a33 ;  2.54-a34;  254-a35 ; 
254-a36;  254-a37;  254-a38 ;  2,54-a39;   254-a40,  Supplement   (1913). 

70.  A  letter  from  H.  S.  Hollingsworth,  general  secretary  of  the  Asso- 
ciated Charities  of  Des  Moines,  May  24,  1917. 

71     Rules  of  the  Social  Service  Registration  Bureau,  Des  Moines. 

72.  Information  obtained  1915  from  Miss  Jane  Shirley,  overseer  of  the 
poor,  Des  Moines,  Iowa. 

73.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2727a64,  Supplement  (1913). 

74.  State  Auditor's  report,  1916,  Part  II,  p.  49. 

75.  The  net  cost  of  the  county  homes  is  determined  by  subtracting  from 
the  gross  cost,  the  income  received  from  the  sale  of  farm  produce 
and  money  received  for  care  of  inmates. 

76.  State  Auditor's  report.   1916.  Part  II,  p.   61. 

This  includes  items  as  follows ;  salary  of  overseer,  provisions,  clothing, 
fuel,  medical  aid,  nurses  and  hospital,  quarantine,  burial  expense, 
rent,  transportation,  dependent  children,  cash  allowances,  miscel- 
laneous. 


72  STUDIES  IN  THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCES 

77.  State  Auditor's  report,  1916,  Part  II,  p.  41. 

78.  State  Auditor's  report,  1916,  Part  II,  p.  75. 

79.  State  Auditor's  report,  1916,  Part  I,  p.  10. 

80.  State  Auditor's  report,   1916,  Part  I,  p.  10. 

81.  State  Auditor's  report,  1916,  Part  I,  p.  10. 

82.  State  Board  of  Control  report,  1916,  pp.  60,  296. 

83.  A  questionnaire  was  sent  out  by  the  writer  as  worker  in  charge  of  the 
Bureau  of  Social  Welfare,  Extension  Division,  State  University  of 
Iowa. 

84.  Davenport,  review  of  county  work  prepared  by  writer,  Bureau  of 
Social  Welfare,   Extension   Division,   State  University   of   Iowa. 

85.  See  printed  financial  report  of  Dubuque  County  for  example. 

86.  Sioux  City  Survey  made  by  writer,  Bureau  of  Social  Welfare,  Exten- 
sion Division,  State  University  of  Iowa.  Keport  filed  in  Extension 
Division. 

87.  Polk  County. 

88.  Pottawattamie  County. 

89.  Poweshiek  County  and  many  others.     This  is  the  usual  method. 

90.  Davenport  survey  made  by  writer.  Bureau  of  Social  Welfare,  Exten- 
sion Division,  State  University  of  Iowa,  for  the  Commercial  Club  of 
Davenport. 

91.  After  the  survey  made  in  Davenport,  the  Commercial  Club  of  Daven- 
port, through  one  of  its  secretaries,  consulted  with  the  Scott  County 
board  of  supervisors  about  conditions  as  found.  The  granting  of 
widows'  pensions  has  since  been  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  the  su- 
pervisors, and  pensions  are  granted  direct  by  the  judge  of  the  dis- 
trict court.  (Letter  from  Irving  C.  Norwood,  secretary,  Davenport 
Commercial  Club,  May  29,  1917). 

92.  Sioux  City  and  Des  Moines. 
9.3.    Woodbury  County. 

94.  From  the  report  of  the  survey  made  by  writer  for  the  Poweshiek 
county  board  of  supervisors,  1912. 

95.  Report  of  the  Social  Service  League  of  Grinnell  for  1913. 

96.  Annual  report  of  the  Social  Service  League,  Grinnell,  Iowa,  Novem 
ber,  1913-1914. 

97.  Statement  of  I.  H.  Saunders,  chairman  of  the  board  of  supervisors, 
Poweshiek  County,  printed  in  the  yearly  report  of  the  Social  Service 
League,  Grinnell,  1913-1914. 

98.  Report  of  the  Social  Service  League,  Grinnell,  1913-1914. 

99.  Statement  of  I.  H.  Saunders,  chairman  of  the  board  of  supervisors, 
Poweshiek  County. 

100.  Oskaloosa  Social  Service  League,  annual  report,  March,  1915. 

101.  Oskaloosa  Social  Service  League,  annual  report,  March,  1915. 

102.  Statement  of  Dr.  G.  Hardy  Clark,  Waterloo,  Iowa. 

103.  Statement  of  Dr.  G.  Hardy  Clark,  Waterloo,  Iowa. 


THE  IOWA  PLAN  73 

104.  Proceedings  of  the  Iowa  State  Conferenece  of  Charities  and  Correc- 
tions, 1914,  pp.  40,  41. 

105.  The  speaker  was  the  writer,  at  that  time  assistant  secretary  Asso- 
ciated Charities,  Des  Moines,  Iowa. 

106.  Report  of  the  survey  made  by  the  Bureau  of  Social  Welfare,  Exten- 
sion Division,  State  University  of  Iowa. 

107.  First  Annual  Report  of  the  Associated  Charities  of  Ottumwa,  1916. 

108.  Report  filed  in  Extension  Division,  State  University  of  Iowa. 

109.  Report  of  Miss  Mabel  Tibbott,  secretary  of  the  Associated  Charities 
and  overseer  of  the  poor,  Tort  Dodge,  Iowa. 

110.  Report  of  the  survey  made  by  the  Bureau  of  Social  Welfare  of  the 
Extension  Division,  State  University  of  Iowa.  The  county  board  of 
supervisors  paid   the  expenses  of  the  survey. 

111.  Letter  from  Miss  Katherine  Ewing,  general  secretary  of  the  Social 
Welfare  League  and  overseer  of  the  poor  of  Cedar  Rapids,  1917. 

112.  From  a  letter  from  Sara  A.  Brown,  overseer  of  the  poor  and  general 
secretary  of  the  Associated  Charities,  Ottumwa. 

113.  From  a  letter  from  Dr.  G.  Hardy  Clark,  Waterloo,  Iowa. 

114.  Gillin  's  Poor  Belief  Legislation  in  Iowa,  pp,  332,  333. 

115.  Butler's  A  Century  of  Progress,  p.  146. 

116.  Letter  from  J.  M.  Hanson,  secretary  Charity  Organization  Society, 
Youngstown,  Ohio,  May  22,  1917. 

117.  Quarterly  Bulletin,  State  Board  of  Charities  and  Corrections  of  South 
Carolina,  June,  1915. 

118.  Letter  from  Professor  A.  J.  Todd,  University  of  Minnesota,  June  25, 
1917. 

119.  The  Survey,  December  30,  1916,  p.  356;  The  Survey,  February  5, 
1917,  p.  530.  Letter  from  Geo.  B.  Mangold,  director  of  the  school  of 
Civics,  St.  Louis,  May  21,  1917. 

120.  Report  of  the  Public  Welfare  Board,  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  1916. 

121.  Report  of  the  Social  Welfare  Board,  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  1916. 

122.  The  Survey,  November  4,  1916,  p.  102. 

123.  Letter  from  Wm.  S.  Bixby,  Secretary  of  the  Charity  Organization 
Society,  Akron,  Ohio,  1914. 

124.  Letter  from  Miss  Lauretta  K.  Hawley,  secretary,  Public  Welfare  As- 
sociation, Henderson,  Ky.,  May  28,  1917. 

125.  Letter  from  Miss  Ethel  I.  McLane,  secretary  Associated  Charities, 
Owensboro,  Ky.,  May  28,  1917. 

126.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2230,  Supplement,   (1913). 

127.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2249,  Supplement    (1913). 

128.  Code  of  Iowa,  Sect.  2232,   (1897). 

129.  The  use  of  the  term  "pauper"  should  be  eliminated  from  the  statutes 
and  from  all  official  documents  and  reports  to  conform  with  modern 
terminology.  There  is  a  precedent  for  such  a  change  in  the  act  of  the 
legislature  in  1909,  which  substituted  "county  home"  for  "county 
poor  farm." 


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